Such is her fame, distraught parents go to her. But McNamara, a pioneer in true crime internet sleuthing, didn't get her start with a sudden interest in the murders that plagued California through the '70s and '80s. The van's driver rushed out, seeming to want to help him at first - then grabbed him and brought him into the van. Shawn always took the same route and his parents trusted him to ride alone. TUESDAY 9 OCTOBER 2007 - Craig and Pam Akers, parents of Shawn Hornbeck, address the news media after Michael Devlin was sentenced to 18 terms of life in prison after pleading guilty in St. Louis . I know its getting hard for her because everyone is giving her a hard time, one of her schoolmates said. and thus have Devlin arrested then and there before he could have a chance to act on any of this threats? Both Shawns mother and stepfather spent all of their money and retirement savings looking for Shawn and paying investigators to help aid the police. One neighbor, Krista Jones, even reported that Devlin was teaching Hornbeck how to drive. Hornbeck was arrested in Washington County, near St. Louis, on Sept. 30, 1992, and charged with rape, although its unclear who the victim was. McNamara also correctly theorized that Devlin was drawn to the boys because they looked much younger than their actual ages. Willett was following a lead on Jan. 12, 2007, in the case of Ben Ownby, a 13-year-old who had gone missing days earlier. He was 11 years old. The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation ceased operations in 2013. The film is based on the true story of Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year-old girl and her eight-year ordeal being kidnapped by Wolfgang Piklopil. In 2013, the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation closed and was replaced by the Missouri Valley Shawn Hornbeck Search and Rescue Team. 'Ted Lasso' Season 3 Dropped Its First Trailer, 'Outer Banks' Season 4 Is Already In the Works, 'The Last of Us' Ep. Devlin decided to kidnap a 13 year old boy named Ben Ownby on January 8, 2007. Shawn's friend Tony Douglas told Newsweek that Shawn had told him that his mother had died in a drunk-driving accident. It's one of the most perplexing questions to emerge from the tale of the two missing Missouri boys who were found last Friday: why didn't Shawn Hornbeck, 15, the older of . Shawn Hornbeck was alive and had been living with Devlin as a hostage for over four years. Just one day before the miraculous discovery, McNamara theorized Ownby was targeted because of his youthful appearance. McNamara's work on the Golden State Killer is her most prolific, but the journalist proved her incredible talent with investigative journalism way before I'll Be Gone in the Dark. He said, I have Shawn [Hornbeck, missing since 2002]. I said, Take us to him. , Willett told the Post-Dispatch that Devlin took the agents to his ground-floor apartment nearby. He was torn away from rural Richwoods, Mo., and taken to Kirkwood, more than 60 miles away. But in the months before he kidnapped a 13-year-old in January, Devlin faced a . How old was Shawn Hornbeck when he was found? He saved his life negotiating with him. Both children were rescued and returned to their families and Devlin was charged with 80 counts of sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder. JOHN WALSH, HOST, AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: When he kidnapped this boy, he probably broke him down psychologically. Photo: AP Photo/Tom Gannam; AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, 24 Years After White Supremacists Lynched Her Dad, Daughter Speaks Out About Trauma and Journey to Peace, Daughter Sues Hospital for 'Assault, Battery, and False Imprisonment' of Kidney Patient Father, Retired Mo. The young boy believed his family would be harmed if he attempted to escape or contact the police. Hornbeck had been missing for more than 4 ye The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will probably die in prison . He was an 11-year old child when his victimization . Writer Michelle McNamara died in her sleep on April 21, 2016. "He might have been in the situation where everything he knew, every kind of activity he once did was taken away," says Dr. Robert Butterworth, a Los Angeles psychologist specializing in trauma. But when Ownby was found, abducted by Michael Devlin, another boy was onsite. In a split second, Devlin kidnapped Shawn, telling the boy that he, was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Five years later, Devlin kidnapped 13-year-old Ben Ownby in the same truck. Even the friends he spent time with had no idea of his background. Today, Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby have found some sense of normalcy, living peacefully with their families in St. Louis. Shawn Hornbeck's parents sat in the courtroom weeping, as the man who kidnapped, tortured, tormented and tried to murder their son ran through a terrible litany of his acts - all without emotion. I hope the offender gets a biggest dick infection and suffers in agony for the rest of his life. Shawn Hornbeck was alive and had been living with Devlin as a hostage for over four years. And Shawn Hornbeck did what he had to do to survive. He is serving 74 life sentences plus 2,020 years at Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri.His life sentences are 30 years each; his total sentence is 4,240 years. The man who fathered kidnapped teen Shawn Hornbeck was a convicted sex offender who did three years in a Missouri prison on drug and sodomy charges, The Post has learned. Eleven-year-old Shawn Hornbeck at the time of his abduction, left, and at the time of his rescue more than four years later. I'll Be Gone In the Dark (2020): Official Trailer | HBO, Michelle McNamara Solved More than a Murder, Michelle McNamara Set a New True Crime Standard, Inside the Making Of I'll Be Gone In the Dark, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. As you know, police found 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck in an apartment of 41-year-old Michael Devlin last week, along with 13-year-old Ben Ownby. Whatever happened during Hornbeck's four years with Devlin, he undoubtedly faces a difficult road ahead. What's more, he disappeared four years ago as a little boy, but has now returned home as a teenager. The following day, the FBI followed a tip on a white pick-up truck that brought them to a pizzeria in Kirkwood. EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. The kidnapper put the 13-year-old in a white Nissan pickup truck and sped away, but not before Mitchell Hults, one of Ownbys friends, got a good look at the vehicle and provided a detailed description to authorities. Devlin was sentenced to 74 life sentences and 170 years of federal time after the 2007 kidnapping of Ben Ownby and 2002 kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck. on January 21, 2008, Parnell died of natural causes in the prison in Vacaville, California. He was 57. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as . But that wasnt his only crime. and Steven died at 24. Theres hardly any place he can go that somebody doesnt recognize him and want to give him a hug, his mom said. . Devlin remains at the state prison in Cameron under protective custody. I hope both young men are doing well. Im not gonna lie there were times when it seemed like I was better off dead.. Willett spoke at length with Devlin while they sat in the backseat of an FBI vehicle. Ownby, 23, lives and attends school in the St. Louis area, according to the Post-Dispatch. Shawn was also made to pose as his abductors son. Eventually, Shawn had a friend, rode his bike around town and surfed the Internet. Shawn Hornbeck was an 11 year old boy who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friends house near Richwoods, Missouri. On October 6, 2002, 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck was riding his bike to a friend's house near Richwood when he was knocked off his bike by a van. Later, Devlin admitted he kidnapped Ben because Shawn was getting too old for his liking, unwittingly confirming McNamaras theory. Neighbors say he led an independent life, regularly hanging out unsupervised with a buddy and riding around on his skateboard and bike. Though Ben was two years older than Shawn, he looked young for his age, and both boys . Is Shawn Hornbeck dead? Authorities say Devlins confession that January day ended years of abuse, threats and manipulation for Hornbeck, whom Devlin abducted in October 2002. On October 1, 1993, at the age of twelve, she was kidnapped at knife point during a slumber party at her mothers home in Petaluma, California, and was later strangled. He kept the boy tied up in his apartment for a month. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage and give to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Drug-resistant stomach bug spreading across US: 'Serious public health alert', Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell Spare released, Jordyn Woods supports Selena Gomez amid singers feud with Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, RHONJ recap: Jennifer Aydin mocks Rachel Fudas terrible nose job, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. Hornbeck spent most of his first month bound to Devlins futon; he was constantly sexually abused. She was 46. Abductors of children often intimidate their victims by threatening harm against the kids' families, according to Dr. Sharon Cooper, a forensic pediatrician at UNC-Chapel Hill and instructor at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Hults' testimony was instrumental in the rescue of Amanda's brother Ben and another kidnapped boy Shawn Hornbeck [2007] . . On this day in 2007, Shawn Hornbeck was finally reunited with his parents after he vanished without trace while riding his bike in Missouri four years earlier. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. ), couldn't he have mentioned "I'm Shawn Hornbeck, I've been kidnapped?" They also started the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation to help other families find their missing and abducted children. Shawn and the girl, whose name was withheld, had been dating for months and were seen holding hands at the largest mall in the area, the West County Mall, friends said. 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