John Joubert
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Joubert was an American serial killer
convicted of the murders of three boys in Maine
and Nebraska
. He was executed in Nebraska.
d when he was six years old, and he went to live with his mother in Lawrence, Massachusetts
. He was not allowed to visit his father and grew to hate his controlling mother. In 1974, she moved the family to Portland, Maine
.
When he was 13, he stabbed a young girl with a pencil and felt sexually stimulated
when she cried in pain. The next day, he took a razor blade and slashed another girl as he biked past her. He was never caught for either attack. In another incident, he beat and nearly strangled another boy. He relished the power of bullying, and began to stab or slash others.
on August 22, 1982, 11-year-old Richard "Ricky" Stetson had gone jogging
. When he had not returned by dark, his parents called the police. The next day, a motorist saw the boy's body on the side of the I-295
. The attacker appeared to have attempted to undress him, and then stabbed and strangled him. A suspect was arrested for the murder, but his teeth did not match a bite mark on Stetson's body, and so he was released after a year and a half in custody. No additional leads presented themselves in the case until January 1984.
Danny Joe Eberle disappeared while delivering the Omaha World-Herald
newspaper on Sunday, September 18, 1983, in Bellevue, Nebraska
. His brother, who also delivered the newspaper, had not seen him, but he did remember being followed by a white man in a tan car on previous days. It was found that Eberle had only delivered three of the seventy newspapers on his route. At his fourth delivery, his bicycle was discovered along with the rest of the newspapers. There appeared to be no sign of a struggle. Joubert would later describe how he had approached Eberle, drawn a knife, and covered the boy's mouth with his hand. He instructed Eberle to follow him to his truck and drove him to a gravel road outside of town.
After three days of searching, Eberle's body was discovered about four miles (6 km) from his bicycle. He had been stripped to his underwear, his feet and hands had been bound, and his mouth had been taped with surgical tape
. Joubert had stabbed him nine times. As a kidnapping, the crime came under the jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States
, so the FBI was called in.
The investigation followed several leads, including a young man who was arrested for molesting
two young boys about a week after the crime. He failed a polygraph
test and had a false alibi but did not fit the profile
the FBI had created for the murderer. He was released due to a lack of evidence. Other known pedophiles
in the area were also questioned, but the case went cold due to a scarcity of evidence.
On December 2, Christopher Walden disappeared in Papillion, Nebraska
, about three miles (5 km) from where Eberle's body was found. Witnesses again said they saw a white man in a tan car. Joubert said that he had driven up to Walden as he walked, showed him the sheath of his knife and ordered him into the car. After driving to some railways lines out of town, he ordered Walden to strip to his underwear which he did. But then Walden refused to lie down. After a brief struggle, Joubert overpowered and then stabbed him. Joubert cut Walden's throat, so deep that he was almost decapitated
. Walden's body was found two days later five miles (8 km) from the town. Although the crimes were similar there were differences. Walden had not been bound, had been concealed better, and was thought to have been killed immediately after being abducted.
. It turned out that his own car, a tan Nova sedan
, was being repaired.
A search warrant
was issued, and rope consistent with that used to bind Danny Joe Eberle was found in his dorm room. The FBI found that the unusual rope had been made for the United States military
in South Korea
. Under interrogation, Joubert admitted getting it from the scoutmaster in the troop
in which he was an assistant.
Robert K. Ressler, the FBI's head profiler at the time, had immediate access to the information about the two boys in Nebraska and worked up a hypothetical description which matched Joubert in every regard. While presenting the case of the two Nebraska boys to a training class at the FBI academy at Quantico
, a police officer from Portland, Maine
noted the similarities to a case in his jurisdiction which took place while Joubert lived there, prior to joining the Air Force. Bite-mark comparisons proved that Joubert was responsible for the Maine killing in addition to those in Nebraska. Ressler and the Maine investigators came to believe that Joubert joined the military to get away from Maine after the murder of the Stetson boy.Ressler, Robert K. and Tom Shachtman, Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Hunting Serial Killers for the FBI. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. See Chapter 5, "Death of a Newsboy," pp. 93-112. ISBN 0312078838
Further investigation in Maine revealed two crimes between the pencil-stabbing of the nine-year-old girl in 1979 and the murder of Stetson in 1982. In 1980, Ressler's investigation revealed that Joubert had slashed a nine-year-old boy and a male teacher in his mid-twenties who both "had been cut rather badly, and were lucky to be alive."
evaluations performed on Joubert. One characterised him as having obsessive-compulsive disorder
and sadistic tendencies
, and suffering from schizoid personality disorder
. He was found to have been not psychotic
at the time of the crimes. A panel of three judges sentenced him to death
for both counts. Joubert was also sentenced to life imprisonment
in Maine
(which did not have the death penalty) in 1990 for the murder of Ricky Stetson after Joubert's teeth were found to match the bite mark.
In 1995, Joubert filed a writ of habeas corpus
to the United States federal courts
over the death sentences. His lawyers argued that the aggravating factor of "exceptional depravity" was unconstitutionally vague, and the court agreed. The state of Nebraska appeal
ed to the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
, which overturned the appeal, saying that he had shown sadistic behavior by torturing
Eberle and Walden.
Joubert was executed on July 17, 1996 by the state of Nebraska in the electric chair
.
An appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court
over whether the electric chair in Nebraska is a cruel and unusual punishment
revealed that during his execution Joubert incurred a four-inch brain
blister on the top of his head and blistering on both sides of his head above his ears.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
convicted of the murders of three boys in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. He was executed in Nebraska.
Childhood
Joubert's parents divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d when he was six years old, and he went to live with his mother in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
. He was not allowed to visit his father and grew to hate his controlling mother. In 1974, she moved the family to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
.
When he was 13, he stabbed a young girl with a pencil and felt sexually stimulated
Sexual arousal
Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
when she cried in pain. The next day, he took a razor blade and slashed another girl as he biked past her. He was never caught for either attack. In another incident, he beat and nearly strangled another boy. He relished the power of bullying, and began to stab or slash others.
Murders
In the city of Portland, MainePortland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
on August 22, 1982, 11-year-old Richard "Ricky" Stetson had gone jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
. When he had not returned by dark, his parents called the police. The next day, a motorist saw the boy's body on the side of the I-295
Interstate 295 (Maine)
Interstate 295 is a -long connector in the U.S. state of Maine from I-95 in Scarborough to I-95 in West Gardiner.-Route description:...
. The attacker appeared to have attempted to undress him, and then stabbed and strangled him. A suspect was arrested for the murder, but his teeth did not match a bite mark on Stetson's body, and so he was released after a year and a half in custody. No additional leads presented themselves in the case until January 1984.
Danny Joe Eberle disappeared while delivering the Omaha World-Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
newspaper on Sunday, September 18, 1983, in Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 50,137 at the 2010 census. Eight miles south of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Originally settled in the 1830s, It was the first state capitol. Bellevue was incorporated in...
. His brother, who also delivered the newspaper, had not seen him, but he did remember being followed by a white man in a tan car on previous days. It was found that Eberle had only delivered three of the seventy newspapers on his route. At his fourth delivery, his bicycle was discovered along with the rest of the newspapers. There appeared to be no sign of a struggle. Joubert would later describe how he had approached Eberle, drawn a knife, and covered the boy's mouth with his hand. He instructed Eberle to follow him to his truck and drove him to a gravel road outside of town.
After three days of searching, Eberle's body was discovered about four miles (6 km) from his bicycle. He had been stripped to his underwear, his feet and hands had been bound, and his mouth had been taped with surgical tape
Surgical tape
Surgical tape is a form of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used in medicine and first aid as a bandage to hold a dressing onto a wound. It will generally have a gentle hypoallergenic adhesive, and be breathable to allow air to reach the skin. Breathable tapes like Kinesiology Tape, and other...
. Joubert had stabbed him nine times. As a kidnapping, the crime came under the jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, so the FBI was called in.
The investigation followed several leads, including a young man who was arrested for molesting
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
two young boys about a week after the crime. He failed a polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
test and had a false alibi but did not fit the profile
Offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling,...
the FBI had created for the murderer. He was released due to a lack of evidence. Other known pedophiles
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
in the area were also questioned, but the case went cold due to a scarcity of evidence.
On December 2, Christopher Walden disappeared in Papillion, Nebraska
Papillion, Nebraska
Papillion is a city in Sarpy County in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is a suburb to the southwest of neighboring Omaha, and is the county seat of Sarpy County. The population of Papillion was 18,894 at the 2010 census. In 2009, Papillion was named the #3 best place to live in the United States by...
, about three miles (5 km) from where Eberle's body was found. Witnesses again said they saw a white man in a tan car. Joubert said that he had driven up to Walden as he walked, showed him the sheath of his knife and ordered him into the car. After driving to some railways lines out of town, he ordered Walden to strip to his underwear which he did. But then Walden refused to lie down. After a brief struggle, Joubert overpowered and then stabbed him. Joubert cut Walden's throat, so deep that he was almost decapitated
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
. Walden's body was found two days later five miles (8 km) from the town. Although the crimes were similar there were differences. Walden had not been bound, had been concealed better, and was thought to have been killed immediately after being abducted.
Arrest
On January 11, 1984, a preschool teacher in the area of the murders called police to say that she had seen a young man driving in the area. There are conflicting stories as to what occurred - whether the car was loitering or just driving around. When the driver saw the teacher writing down his license plate, he stopped and threatened her before fleeing. The car was not tan, but was traced and found to be rented by John Joubert, an enlisted radar technician from Offutt Air Force BaseOffutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
. It turned out that his own car, a tan Nova sedan
Chevrolet Nova
The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a compact automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced in four generations for the 1962 through 1979 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II nameplate was dropped, Nova becoming the...
, was being repaired.
A search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
was issued, and rope consistent with that used to bind Danny Joe Eberle was found in his dorm room. The FBI found that the unusual rope had been made for the United States military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Under interrogation, Joubert admitted getting it from the scoutmaster in the troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
in which he was an assistant.
Robert K. Ressler, the FBI's head profiler at the time, had immediate access to the information about the two boys in Nebraska and worked up a hypothetical description which matched Joubert in every regard. While presenting the case of the two Nebraska boys to a training class at the FBI academy at Quantico
Quantico
Quantico may refer to:* Quantico , a 2005 science fiction/thriller novel by Greg Bear* Quantico, Maryland, an unincorporated community in Wicomico County, Maryland, United States...
, a police officer from Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
noted the similarities to a case in his jurisdiction which took place while Joubert lived there, prior to joining the Air Force. Bite-mark comparisons proved that Joubert was responsible for the Maine killing in addition to those in Nebraska. Ressler and the Maine investigators came to believe that Joubert joined the military to get away from Maine after the murder of the Stetson boy.Ressler, Robert K. and Tom Shachtman, Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Hunting Serial Killers for the FBI. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. See Chapter 5, "Death of a Newsboy," pp. 93-112. ISBN 0312078838
Further investigation in Maine revealed two crimes between the pencil-stabbing of the nine-year-old girl in 1979 and the murder of Stetson in 1982. In 1980, Ressler's investigation revealed that Joubert had slashed a nine-year-old boy and a male teacher in his mid-twenties who both "had been cut rather badly, and were lucky to be alive."
Trials and appeals
Joubert then confessed to killing the two boys, and on January 12, he was charged with their murders. After initially pleading not guilty, he changed his plea to guilty. There were several psychiatricPsychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
evaluations performed on Joubert. One characterised him as having obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
and sadistic tendencies
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
, and suffering from schizoid personality disorder
Schizoid personality disorder
Schizoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and sometimes apathy, with a simultaneous rich, elaborate, and exclusively internal fantasy world...
. He was found to have been not psychotic
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
at the time of the crimes. A panel of three judges sentenced him to death
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
for both counts. Joubert was also sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
(which did not have the death penalty) in 1990 for the murder of Ricky Stetson after Joubert's teeth were found to match the bite mark.
In 1995, Joubert filed a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
to the United States federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
over the death sentences. His lawyers argued that the aggravating factor of "exceptional depravity" was unconstitutionally vague, and the court agreed. The state of Nebraska appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
ed to the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nebraska. Court offices are in Omaha, Lincoln, and North Platte....
, which overturned the appeal, saying that he had shown sadistic behavior by torturing
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
Eberle and Walden.
Joubert was executed on July 17, 1996 by the state of Nebraska in the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
.
An appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court
Nebraska Supreme Court
The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Each Justice is initially appointed by the Governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each Justice is then subject to a retention vote for additional...
over whether the electric chair in Nebraska is a cruel and unusual punishment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
revealed that during his execution Joubert incurred a four-inch brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
blister on the top of his head and blistering on both sides of his head above his ears.