Content Warning: Murder, graphic language {not swearing}, death of children, disturbing subjects which may not be suitable for some viewers, viewer discretion is advised… 

For true crime lovers everywhere, something that goes through all their minds is, “I wonder what crimes have happened in my state?” As a Mainer, I have always been curious; though we may not have had infamous killers like Bundy or Dahmer, who have had countless coverage, Maine carries its fun secrets. 

John Joseph Joubert Ⅳ was born July 2, 1963, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, his parents were divorced, and he was not allowed to visit his dad. It was said his mother was very controlling, which led to him resenting her throughout his childhood. Then, in 1974 she moved the family to Portland, Maine. Backtracing three years, in 1971, Joubert’s mother moved them into a rundown apartment; it was noted that he was considered an outcast in school and was seeking other ways to compensate for the feeling of isolation, leading him to join Cub Scouts. Around this time, his sadistic and homicidal fantasies became so bad that he considered murdering strangers he passed in the streets, imagining tying and gagging them if they resisted him. Later on, in one psychiatric report, he was described as saying that he derived pleasure from the thought of his victims, saying, “If you are going to do it, get it over with.” 

 Joubert attended Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine. He graduated in 1981.  When Joubert was 13, he stabbed a 13-year-old girl and felt sexually stimulated when she cried out in pain. Due to this, the next day, he took a razor blade and slashed another girl as he biked past her. Joubert was never caught for either attack. His never being caught led to the progression of his violent tendencies. In another incident, he beat and nearly strangled another boy; he enjoyed the power of bullying and began stabbing or slashing others.

On August 22, 1982, 11-year-old Richard “Ricky” Stetson left home to jog on Back Cove Trail in Portland, Maine; this trail was 3.5 miles long. When Stetson did not return by dark, his parents called the police, though the next day, a motorist discovered the boy’s body on the side of Interstate 295. His attacker had attempted to undress him, then stabbed, strangled, and hit him; a suspect was arrested for the murder, but his teeth did not match the bite mark on Stetson’s body after a year and a half in custody, and he was released. No additional leads presented themselves, leaving the case cold until January, 1984. 

13-year-old Danny Joe Eberle disappeared Sunday, September 18, 1983, in Bellevue, Nebraska, while delivering the Omaha World-Herald. His brother, who also delivered papers, had not seen him but did remember being followed by a white man in a tan car on previous days. It was discovered that Eberle only delivered 3 of his 70 newspapers; upon investigation, his bike was found along with the rest of his newspapers at the fourth house in his route. There was no apparent sign of a struggle, though later on, when discussing the crime with Joubert, he would describe how he approached Eberle, drew his knife and covered the boy’s mouth, then instructed Eberle to follow him to his car and drove him down a gravel road.

After a three-day search, the young boy’s body was discovered in a path of high grass alongside the same gravel road, just 4 miles (6 km) from where his bicycle was found. Bound and mouth sealed with surgical tape, based on physical evidence, it was also suggested that he had been tortured before death. In addition to the torture, he was also stabbed nine times. Because Eberle had been kidnapped, the crime came under the jurisdiction of the United States, and the FBI was called in. 

Their investigation followed several leads, one being a young man arrested for molesting two young boys approximately a week after the crime. He failed a polygraph and had a false alibi but did not fit the profile that the FBI created for the murderer; because of that, he was released due to lack of evidence. Other pedophiles in the area were also questioned, but unfortunately, the case went cold due to a lack of evidence….

Please stay tuned for part two of this case.