How A Denny’s Waitress Helped Catch Idaho’s Most Ruthless Killer

There are a small number of serial killers that have ties to the Gem State. One sadistic murderer who died in 2021 committed horrendous acts against children and adults in northern Idaho was apprehended with the help of staff on the other side of a diner's counter.

The name Joseph Edward Duncan III still angers Idahoans living up north to this day. In 2005, Duncan brutally killed three members of a Coeur d'Alene area family outside their home and kidnapped two others before torturing and shooting an 8-year-old boy in the woods of north Idaho. The "Groene Family Massacre," as it's known by some, rocked the small panhandle community and tied up the local court system for more than three years.

 Duncan died of brain cancer while in prison in 2021.

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Idaho has been a killing field for a number of psychopaths over the past 50 years. Names like Paul Ezra Rhodes and Thomas Ugene Creech are a couple of the most notable killers to be sentenced for their horrendous crimes in Idaho. Both of their stories pale in comparison to what Joseph Edward Duncan III did to his Idaho victims 20 years ago.

Duncan bound, bludgeoned to death, and mutilated the mother and stepfather before claiming the life of their teenage son. He then kidnapped the eight-year-old daughter, Shasta, as well as nine-year-old Dylan, and drove them to a desolate area nearby. The boy was shot dead and the girl was taken on the road by Duncan.

While seated at an area Denny's restaurant, a waitress tipped off police who ultimately arrested Duncan and saved Shasta's life, according to justice.gov. Duncan died of brain cancer while in prison in 2021.