By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Lawyers for Joseph Edward Duncan III said Wednesday he will admit to the murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene at a campsite in Montana and to three slayings in Idaho if state prosecutors will agree not to seek the death penalty.
In a letter to Prosecutor Bill Douglas of Kootenai County, Idaho, Duncan's lawyers said their client will cooperate fully with law enforcement officers, even though what he says will likely be used against him if he faces a possible death sentence in federal court later.
"Mr. Duncan will admit to the intentional killing of Dylan Groene in Montana in the early part of 2005, as well as all other crimes committed against Shasta and Dylan Groene," said the letter signed by public defenders John Adams and Roger Peven.
Peven, head of the federal public defenders office in Spokane, said Douglas has rejected the offer.
Douglas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. A spokeswoman in his office said he did not want to comment since jury selection in the case begins Monday.
"We're ready to go on the 16th," she said.
Douglas has consistently rejected a plea bargain for Duncan. Steve Groene, father of the abducted children, in recent months has asked for a plea bargain so Shasta, now 9, would not have to face Duncan in court. Steve Groene is recovering from recent throat cancer surgery and was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Duncan is accused of killing the children's mother, their 13-year old brother, and their mother's boyfriend in May 2005 at their home near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Court documents allege Duncan, 43, a Tacoma native who spent most of his adult life in Washington prisons for sexual crimes against children, committed the slayings so he could kidnap the two children for sex.
Duncan allegedly took the two children to a primitive campsite in Montana and Dylan was killed at some point. Shasta, 8 at the time, was rescued at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene after seven weeks of captivity.
Peven said Duncan is willing to plead guilty to spare Shasta the trauma of facing him in court.
"It's the right thing to do," Peven told The Associated Press. "Mr. Duncan doesn't advantage himself in any way."
A guilty plea would eliminate an anticipated two decades of appeals in which Shasta, the sole survivor of the carnage, would have to face Duncan in court, Peven said.
Duncan understands that by making the confessions, he will make it easier for the federal government to convict him of expected charges of kidnapping and murder in the abduction of Shasta and Dylan when the state case concludes, Peven said.
Shasta Groene will meet with 1st District Judge Fred Gibler on Thursday in a closed session to determine if she is competent to testify because of her age, and also whether she will be given special considerations such as not having to look directly at Duncan, or having a comforting person sit near her.
At the time of his arrest last year, Duncan was on the run from a molestation charge in Minnesota. Duncan has also been implicated in the deaths of two children in the Seattle area and one child in Southern California.
"He'll talk about anything they ask him," Peven said, but added that he did not believe Duncan was involved in the slaying of any other children.
The letter said that in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole, Duncan would:
-Plead guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping in the slayings by hammer blows of Brenda Groene, her fiance, Mark McKenzie; and Groene's 13-year-old son, Slade, in May 2005.
-Will cooperate fully with law enforcement officers on the state charges and the anticipated federal charges in the kidnapping of the children and the slaying of Dylan.
-Give law enforcement officers the keys to his encrypted computer files. A computer expert and prolific blogger, Duncan has bragged that officers won't be able to crack into his computer files for 30 years. The files are thought to contain extensive details of his criminal activities, including still and video pictures of his actions against the Groene children.
The encryption keys would only be supplied if Shasta Groene's legal guardian agrees that the material can be viewed by others or entered into court proceedings, the letter said.
-Family members of the victims who testify during the sentencing phase against Duncan would not be cross-examined by defense lawyers.
"Mr. Duncan is fully aware that this in no way binds the United States in its prosecution of him for any charges it may bring," the letter said.
Idaho has not executed a prisoner since 1976, except for one man who volunteered to be put to death, Peven said.
He also said the federal appeals process in a death penalty case is much faster than the state process.
