On a summer evening in Portland, Maine, 11-year-old Richard "Ricky" Stetson, a Caucasian male, went for a jog along the Back Cove trail on August 22, 1982. When he did not return home by dark, his concerned parents contacted the police. Witnesses later recalled seeing the red-headed boy in his gray sweatsuit jogging that evening, with some also noticing a young man with dark hair on a bicycle nearby.
The following morning, a motorist discovered Richard's body on the side of Interstate
295. Initially, it was believed he was the victim of a tragic hit-and-run accident. However, an autopsy revealed a far more sinister cause of death. The young boy had been strangled and stabbed multiple times in the chest. The investigation took a crucial turn when bite marks were found on his body, indicating a struggle and providing a key piece of evidence for investigators.
For a time, the case grew cold. An initial suspect was arrested, but after a year and a half in custody, he was released when his dental records did not match the bite marks left on Richard's body. The investigation was reignited in January 1984 with the arrest of John Joubert, a 20-year-old Air Force Radar Technician, in connection with crimes in Nebraska. Joubert's teeth were found to be a match to the bite mark on Richard Stetson.
John Joubert was subsequently charged with Richard's murder. In 1990, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Maine for the murder of Richard Stetson. This was in addition to a death sentence for the murders of two boys in Nebraska. Joubert later confessed to killing the three boys. He was executed on July 17, 1996.
