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

On December 2, 1983, 12- year old Christopher Walden disappeared from Papillion, Nebraska, approximately 3 miles (5 km) from where 13-year-old Danny Eberle’s body was found. Some witnesses again said they saw a white man in a tan car. Later, Joubert said he had driven to Walden as he walked, showed him the knife sheath, and ordered Walden into the vehicle. After going to some railway lines out of town, Joubert ordered Walden to strip to his underwear, which he did, but then Walden refused to lie down. This resulted in a brief struggle between the two. Joubert eventually overpowered and stabbed him; he cut his throat so deeply that Walden had almost been decapitated. Walden’s body was found two days later, 5 miles (8 km) from the town, and although the crimes were similar, there were differences. Walden had not been bound; he was better concealed and was thought to have been killed immediately after being abducted. 

On January 11, 1984, the police received a call from a preschool teacher who lived n the area of the murders and informed them that she had seen a young man driving. There were conflicting stories about what had occurred, whether that be a car loitering or just truly going around. When the driver spotted the teacher writing down his license plate, he stopped to threaten her before leaving. The vehicle was not tan, but the plate was traced and found to be rented by John Joubert, who at the time was an enlisted radar technician from Offutt Air Force Base. It turns out his car, a tan Chevrolet Nova sedan, was in the shop being repaired. 

A search warrant was issued for his barracks, and they found rope that was consistent with the one used to bind Danny Joe Eberle. This rope stood out because it was made for the United States Military in South Korea. During interrogation, Joubert admitted getting the rope from the scoutmaster in the scout troop where he was an assistant. 

Robert K. Ressler, the FBI’s head profiler at the time and the Maine Police, believed that Joubert joined the military to escape the Maine murder of Stetson. However, further investigation of Joubert revealed the two crimes, one of which was the stabbing of the nine-year-old girl in 1979 and the later murder of Stetson in 1982. Ressler’s 1980 investigation revealed that another incident involved the slashing of a nine-year-old boy and a female teacher in her mid-twenties who “had been cut rather badly and were lucky to be alive.” 

On January 12, Joubert confessed to killing the two boys and then was charged with their murders after having initially pleaded guilty. Several psychiatric evaluations were performed on Joubert, one stating he had obsessive-compulsive disorder, sadistic tendencies, and schizoid personality disorder.

Joubert was found to not be psychotic at the time of the crimes, and a panel of three judges sentenced him to death; he was also sentenced to life imprisonment in Maine (which does not have the death penalty) in 1990 for the murder of Rickey 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 sentence. Jourbert’s lawyers argued that the aggravating factor of “exceptional depravity” was vague. However, the court and the state of Nebraska overturned the appeal by stating he had shown sadistic behavior by torturing Eberle and Walden. 

John Joseph Joubert Ⅳ was executed via electric chair by the state of Nebraska on July 17, 1996. He was the second person to be executed in Nebraska since they reintroduced the death penalty. Joubert made a final statement in which he apologized for the murders, saying, “I just want to say that again I am sorry for what I have done. I do not know if my death will change anything or if it will bring anyone peace. I ask the families of Danny Eberle, Christopher Walden, and Richard Stetson to please try to find some peace and ask the people of Nebraska to forgive me. That’s all.”

His last meal consisted of pizza with green peppers and onions, strawberry cheesecake, and black coffee.


Citations:

Blanco, J. I. (n.d.). John Joubert: Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. John Joubert | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://murderpedia.org/male.J/j1/joubert-john.htm

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, March 27). John Joubert (serial killer). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Joubert_(serial_killer)