Danny Heinrich Confesses to Abducting and Killing Jacob Wetterling

The case of what happened to Jacob Wetterling can finally be closed.

The world learned the fate of the Minnesota boy, missing since 1989, when his murderer stood in federal court Tuesday and recounted in horrific detail how he kidnapped the sandy-haired boy on a dead-end rural road, drove him into the dark countryside and sexually assaulted, then executed him.

"What did I do wrong?" Jacob asked his kidnapper.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the disclosure came after federal prosecutors cut a deal with Heinrich, who after years of denying involvement in Wetterling's disappearance led authorities to the boy's shallow grave in a pasture near the town of Paynesville.

Heinrich made his confession as part of a plea deal, struck, officials said, with the approval of the victim's parents.

Heinrich, 53, pleaded guilty to a single count of receiving child pornography, for which he is expected to spend 20 years behind bars. Though he will not be prosecuted for Jacob's kidnapping and murder, Heinrich could remain in state custody under Minnesota's civil sex offender commitment.