48 Hours - Kidnapped: Shawn Hornbeck's Incredible Story

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

This classic episode of "48 Hours" explores the report of 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck who was kidnapped in October 2002 while riding his bicycle in Richwoods, Missouri. Over the course of the next four-and-a-half years, he was held captive and sexually abused by his abductor, Michael Devlin. In January 2007, Devlin abducted another youth, Ben Ownby. With the help of a witness to that abduction, the FBI was able to trace Devlin’s car and confront him. “48 Hours” correspondent Troy Roberts reports. This "48 Hours" episode last aired on 9/5/09. Watch all-new episodes of 48 Hours on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. J.C. Dugard was found alive. We are so very grateful to have her home. October 6, 2002 was a Sunday. It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Sean was bored and asked if he could go out to play. He wanted to ride his bike to his friend's house, something that we had let him do, you know, hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. We said, sure, just be careful, be home by five for dinner. Sean was 11, really good kid, cared about other people. We were really proud of him. To me, he was just my sweet little boy. The thing I remember most is before I left, my mom gave me a hug and a kiss. Tell her I love her and then I'm off. He was just He was just driving around looking for the right opportunity, looking for a child alone. He is a sexual predator, predatory animal, a person who would prey on children. And in my estimation, the lowest farm of a human being, if you can even call him a human

being. When Sean turned down Indian Creek Road, his life changed forever. It wasn't a bike ride for sure. It was terrifying. He just happened on Sean Hornbeck and decided to take him. I didn't really know it was behind me. You know, I heard the rocks.

He pulled up on him, bumped the kid with a truck. Next thing you know, I was in the ditch. That's when he picked me up, tied my hands behind my back and put me in the truck. He had the gun. He had the power. The thing that sticks out the most is he said, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time something was wrong I could just feel it he wasn't home yet Sean was afraid of the dark it was at that point that we really knew that something was terribly wrong breaking news this morning,

an 11-year-old boy has disappeared this morning. I knew in my gut that he was still out there somewhere and I could just feel that he was still with us and there was just no way we were gonna give up on him. 11-year-old Sean Hornbeck disappeared one year ago while riding his bicycle near his rich witch home. It was really difficult to maintain hope, but that is the one thing that we knew

would hold us together. It's been three years to the day since the Washington County boy failed to return home after going out to ride his new bicycle. Yeah, there wasn't a day when I didn't think he was just gonna kill me. It's been four years since 11-year-old Sean Hornbeck disappeared.

It's a four and a half year story with a lot of gory, nasty details that a lot of people can't really handle. We don't have a clue as to the horrors that Sean had to endure during those four and a half years. Nobody knows the real story except for me because it happened to me. My name is Sean Hornbeuck and I'm a survivor. Kidnapped. Tonight's 48 Hours Mystery. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

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Nobody can explain my story but me. I'm the victim. Nobody else knows what I went through, and they really won't know unless I explain to them. Tonight, you'll hear the amazing story of a boy who went to hell and back, a journey of survival against all odds, and of one family's remarkable resolve. I don't know if I'll ever forget that pain. I don't know if I'll ever forget that day.

Initially, the turnout was just overwhelming. Hours after Sean Hornbeck disappeared, Sheriff's deputies, police, and volunteers were combing the rough terrain around Richwoods, Missouri. We're into some heavier wooded areas that we couldn't get into last night because it was just too dangerous. We could see people everywhere in the surrounding community

with flashlights looking everywhere for Sean at that point I still thought he was just out somewhere hurt canine apparently sniffed out the missing boy sent near highway 8 but aside from dogs detecting his scent nothing else turned up not even Sean's bike it was just as if he had vanished. There was no trace of him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. As the days turned to weeks,

Sean's mother, Pam, and stepfather, Craig Akers, put on a brave face for reporters. There's a clue out there somewhere, so that's what we're looking for. It's very tough. The longer it gets, the tougher it gets, but I'm not going to give up. Privately, however, they were falling apart. Nighttime was about the only time where we really did have the opportunity to share our emotions and share our feelings,

and that was probably the roughest times there were. You're sitting there alone and... just trying to figure out what happened to your son. At that point, then, that's when I started thinking that the worst possible could have happened, that someone else has him. Pam and Craig couldn't help but feel guilty for letting Sean go out alone that day. You don't blame yourself, do you? At times. I mean, you know, I'm his mother.

I did feel like I failed on the part of protecting him and keeping him safe and keeping him at home. I feel the same way. You know, just go over and over in my mind all the different things that we could have done that day. But Sean had taken that ride dozens of times before. We live in a small little town, you know, it had seemed safe all up until then. Sean and his two older sisters, Jackie and Jennifer, had grown up in the quiet Midwestern town just 60 miles from St. Louis. Sean was always happy, always upbeat, always joking. To me, I think he was just a typical 11-year-old. Liked to play the games, liked to ride his bike, liked to do baseball, liked to hang

out with his friends. When he was six, Sean had walked his mother down the aisle when she married Craig. Just a great kid, someone you'd be proud, proud to call your son. And even though Sean wasn't his biological son, he and Craig shared a special bond.

Sean was always known as my shadow. He grew up sitting on my lap in front of a keyboard. We spent pretty much every minute of every day together. When the official search for their son was scaled back, the Akers kept looking. We cashed in my 401k. Every penny that we had ever saved went into the search for Sean. They formed the Sean Hornbeck Foundation and set up an email tip line. There was hundreds and hundreds of tips coming in. Working for the county prosecutor,

retired St. Louis detective Don Cooksey investigated over 400 leads. There's no question I was obsessive about it. I was obsessed with the case. I searched strip mines. I searched caves, riverways, abandoned farms, abandoned trailers, cemeteries. Lakes. I've drained a couple of lakes.

About a year into the investigation, I didn't think we'd ever find him alive. After tonight's candlelight ceremony marking one year since Sean's disappearance, it's back to regular searches in and around Richwoods. It was really difficult to maintain hope. One year gave way to two, then three, and four. Pam searched for strength and found it in a song, one of her favorites, Calling All Angels by the band Train. Main words in it for me is, you know, don't give up.

Felt like I would never give up, and I didn't want Sean to give up. So I was hoping at the same time he would hear the song. Little did the Akers know that less than an hour from home, their 11-year-old son Sean was being held captive by a man police would later call a monster. son Sean was being held captive by a man police would later call a monster. When you were in captivity, your greatest fear was? Not being able to see my family or parents again. Sean was living his days in terror.

I'm not going to lie, there was times when it seemed like it was, I was better off dead than living through that. Subjected to unimaginable daily physical and sexual abuse. From day one, he had the gun. He had the power. I was powerless. There was nothing I could physically do. Did the days just seem to blend in with each other? There was times when I thought it was like July and it was snowing outside.

I just, I didn't keep track of time or day. It was just another day to add to my life. Then, on a cold winter's morning in January 2007, Pam and Craig woke up to a shocking news report about an abduction in a nearby town. I'm Bill Breaker. A young teenage boy is missing in Franklin County. First thing that popped in my head was, oh my God, not another one. It really kind of struck me as eerily similar, really.

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shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informance Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand Zealand lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still a virgin.

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Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Did you fear for your life every day? Yeah, there wasn't a day when I didn't think he was just going to kill me. By January 2007, Sean Hornbeck had been living under the control of his sadistic tormentor for four and a half years. He says the only thing that kept him going during that time was his faith in his family. That's just what held me on is because our family is so close.

I had more doubts in myself than I did them. What do you mean? It's just there was some times when it wasn't looking so bright, but then I just knew that they were still out there, so I should just hold on. But as bad as it had been for Sean a new terrifying reality hit him when his captor decided to kidnap another boy 13 year old Ben on B disappeared on Monday let's go to news did you believe that your days were numbered at that point? The days got slimmer because it's a replacement.

When you get a new car, what do you do with the old one? You usually get rid of it, right? Sean's replacement would be 13-year-old Ben Omby, who disappeared on January the 8th, 2007, after getting off the school bus in Beaufort, Missouri. By 4 p.m., his parents, Don and Doris Ownby, were panicking. He wasn't where he was supposed to be. So I called the school to find out if he was there or if there was anything going on, and he wasn't.

15-year-old neighbor Mitch Holtz remembered seeing Ben getting off the bus at 3.30, but he also remembered seeing something odd a few moments later. I said, I seen a vehicle down here. He said, there was a strange truck. And then it peeled out real fast. I thought right away, I need to call the sheriff. I'm a woman, what's the problem?

My son is missing. I thought right away, I need to call the sheriff. I'm a woman. What's the problem? My son is missing. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Tolkey immediately contacted the FBI and dispatched deputies to search for Ben. Then Mitch Holtz was brought in for questioning. He just starts going down the line. Well, you know, I remember seeing Nissan on the tailgate in dark letters.

It had a camper top with an elongated window down the side with the knobs on the side. It had a two-inch trailer hitch on the back. Rust or dirt over the fender, and the FBI agent's kind of looking at him like, you know, right. You know, because you never get a description like that, even from an adult. Very detailed. Very detailed. They didn't believe you at first because you gave them so much detail

that they thought you were making it up. I don't know why they wouldn't believe me. Never lied in my life. Mitch, it turned out, was a truck fanatic, recalling every minute detail of the vehicle. But ironically, the only detail Mitch didn't remember was the license plate. You could tell it really frustrated him

that he couldn't remember that. Police took casts of the tire treads, and an APB for the white truck was broadcast across the state. Meanwhile, just 45 minutes away in Kirkwood, Missouri... Ryan, let me know when that salad's up. A description of the truck caught the eye of Emo's Pizzeria owner, Mike Prosperi. Hey, Dave.

By coincidence, his longtime manager, 41-year-old Mike Devlin, had a white truck that matched that description. Did you see Michael Devlin the day that Ben Omby was abducted? Yes, I saw Mike. He did not look well at all. He was pale. Devlin had gone home sick that day, something that was highly unusual for the man he'd known since high school. Trustworthy? Trustworthy. Did you like him? If I didn't like him, I wouldn't have had him as a manager for so long. But the next day, on a hunch, Persperi decided to drive by Devlin's apartment.

Right away, he noticed something suspicious on Devlin's truck. I noticed that there was the red road dust like you can only get from driving on a gravel road out in the country. You can't get it in the city here. If he was as ill as he looked, I was wondering how he would have gotten that road dust on there. When Devlin called in sick for the next two days, Prosperi contacted police. Their first question to him... Was he at work Monday? And I said, you know, he didn't work all day.

He got off at 12... at 12.50. Which would have given him enough time... Right, to go in, to go and snatch Ben. The next day, FBI agent Lynn Willett and her partner arrived at Imo's Pizzeria to check out Devlin and his truck. You've been called a human polygraph machine. Willett's congenial personality belies her uncanny ability to spot a liar.

You can nice people all the way to the penitentiary? Well, I've heard that said yes. The first thing Willett noticed when she entered Imo's pizzeria was that Devlin wouldn't catch her eye, which made her suspicious. And he was facing toward us, and he wouldn't look up at us. They stepped out to the back parking lot, and Devlin consented to having his truck searched. What was his demeanor like?

It was calm, normal. Willett began making casual conversation with Devlin, inviting him to sit in the back seat of an unmarked car. That's when Willett began what she calls a circular interviewing technique, asking simple questions over and over. And what are you looking for? Deviations in the patterns of behavior. Willett was trying to determine if Devlin had abducted Benonbi, but almost immediately she noticed that Devlin kept coming back to one subject, a godson named Sean.

What did he say about his godson, Sean? He said that his godson, Sean, was staying with him. And every time we would start to talk about Sean, I could see his pulse increase on his carotid on his neck. Probably about an hour into the interview, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. And I realized he's talking about Sean Hornbeck. That's when Willett played her trump card. She told him they had forensic evidence cast of tire treads that would be as accurate as fingerprints linking him to Ben Omby's kidnapping.

And it was at that point that he lowered his head, and he said, you know, that he was a bad person. And he told us, he said, Sean's not my godson. Sean is Sean Hornbeck. My question was, is Ben there? And he said yes. What were you thinking at that point? Well, I was thinking that we need to get those boys.

With Devlin in the car, Agent Willett and her partner drove over to his apartment, followed by police backup. And I told him we're going to all walk up to the front door together. And I asked him to unlock the front door. And he opened the door probably about, know four or five inches and I could see a young man sitting on the couch I told him he was safe or the police and you're gonna go home It was my time. You know, everybody has their times when they feel like all the weight on their shoulders were lifted. And I guess that was my time because I knew when they came to the door that it was either something very good or something very bad. And I got lucky and it was something very good. Sean Hornbeck was stunned. FBI agent Lynn Willett and her partner had just stepped

into Michael Devlin's apartment. Did you recognize Sean? No. You didn't? No. I saw a young man sitting on a couch. It looked like they were playing a video game, and he was kind of frozen just looking at us, like in shock. But before Sean could move, it was 13-year-old Ben Omby who rushed toward Lynn Willett. And I could just feel him pushing with all of his might. He was willing himself out that door. You know, and that's probably the hardest moment for me. feeling pushing with all of his might. He was willing himself out that door.

You know, and that's probably the hardest moment for me. You know, as a parent, you just wanna grab him up and run. As a law enforcement officer, I have a crime scene here. Resisting her impulse to hug him, Willett handed Ben over to another agent and turned her attention to the young man she didn't recognize. And we had asked Sean, what's your last name?

And he immediately said Hornbeck. When I told Lynn that my name was Sean Hornbeck, I could see the surprise in her face too. And I just, my world was going in circles I didn't know what was right what was left or up and down it was it was a whole new feeling you know I was confused I felt lightheaded it was such a rush Shawn had been waiting for this moment for four and a half years I felt like I didn't have that monkey on my back anymore. It just, it was a new feeling for me to say who I really was.

What do you have to say, Devlin? Willett arrested Devlin and confiscated rifles and a handgun in his apartment. Then the FBI called Ben's parents with the incredible news. He said, we've got him. They said, we got Ben. I screamed.

Meanwhile, the county prosecutor called the Akers on their cell phone. I had gotten so nervous, I couldn't talk, and I handed Craig the phone. And he was driving. He said, we're 95% sure that we found Sean, and he's driving. He said we're 95% sure that we found Sean and he's alive and I mean that was just instant tears. Pam and Craig raced towards the Sheriff's Department through a thunderstorm. It was just agonizing the drive from there to

the Sheriff's Department seemed like it took forever and you just kept thinking, is this really the end? News cameras captured FBI agents escorting a stunned Sean and Ben to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. My heart was racing, you know, so many thoughts were going through my head. I didn't know what was gonna happen, you know, I wanted to see my parents so bad.

And I remember walking in and he was sitting in a chair. His head was down. And he looked up, and when he looked, I knew. I knew immediately that that was him. And that was just the most wonderful feeling that you could have. You know, and he immediately stood up. We must have hugged for 30 minutes without even letting each other go. You know, and he immediately stood up. We must have hugged for 30 minutes without even letting each other go.

You know, and just telling him I'm so glad he's home, and that I loved him, and just missed him so much. But I don't think I'll ever forget that. All three of us hugged at the same time. There wasn't any firsts, you know. We got a good, clean side of each other for about 10 minutes. And then it was like the waterworks were just on. There was no off button on it. It's like a water main broke.

It was great. There's nothing like a mother or father's love. It's just a whole new feeling. It's something I didn't feel in a long time, so it just knocked me off my feet. In an adjoining room, Ben was reunited with his family. He walked in the door. I grabbed him and just held on to him. Finally, I told him, I said, I guess I got to let you go and let your daddy have you for a little bit. Meanwhile, news that FBI agent Willett's team

had found not one but both missing boys was spreading like wildfire through the law enforcement community. It was an incredible thing. You know, this was our Super Bowl and this was our World Series, and that's the way it feels to me. I don't think I could win a World Series or Super Bowl and feel any better. For Detective Don Cooksey, it was a day he thought he'd never see. I got a lie to you. I sat down on the porch and cried like a baby.

It was some of the best news I've ever heard. Authorities learned that both boys had been sexually assaulted repeatedly. Michael Devlin, the 6'4", 300-pound loner with no previous record, was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder. Back in Richwoods, Sean began slowly readjusting to life at home with his family,

and in several briefings with investigators, he gave details of his captivity, including that he had witnessed Ben Omby's abduction. He knew we had a thousand questions. He knew we needed to know what had happened and how it had happened. So one day he sat down on the bed and said, Mom and Dad, can I talk?

And we're like, yeah, sure. You can talk anytime you want to. He's like, I want to tell you what happened. Sean told his parents during the first month after he was kidnapped, his life was pure agony. He was held captive in Devlin's apartment, bound and gagged. He was tied to a futon during all the time that the defendant was at work or gone. Duct tape was placed over his mouth

so he couldn't scream out. He was only released from the futon when the defendant came home for work. This month of torture would only be the beginning of Sean's ordeal. Around Halloween 2002, Devlin drove Sean to a remote logging road. The defendant stopped the truck, got out of the truck, got Sean out of the truck.

They went around to the back of the truck, and the defendant then attempted to strangle Sean with the intent of killing him. Sean began pleading for his life and told the defendant he would do whatever he wanted him to do as long as he didn't kill him. Devlin agreed not to kill Sean, but in return, Sean was forced to make

what his parents call a deal with the devil. He could never try to contact anyone, never try to run, and that if he did, he would be killed. Eleven-year-old Sean Hornbeck agreed to become Sean Devlin. And for the next four and a half years, the invisible chains of a deal forced on him that day

will keep Sean tied to his tormentor. It was terrifying. And most people just don't understand that. It's on a level that they've never had to experience. There wasn't a day when I didn't think he was just going to kill me. One month into his captivity, Michael Devlin's control over Sean Hornbeck was complete and total. Devlin was so confident of his power that he would leave Sean all alone here in this tiny one-bedroom apartment while he went to work at the pizzeria, run errands, and visit family who

had no idea Sean even existed. So how did you pass the time? The majority of it's sleeping. Because when you sleep, it seems like time goes by fast. You know, and it's just, it's an escape. Devlin's hold on Sean was so complete that seven months after he was abducted, Devlin even allowed him to make a friend, 13-year-old neighbor, Tony Douglas. Tony was my first friend, and we were friends for a long time.

Tony's family, mom Rita Letterly, sister Melissa, and sister-in-law Kelly, say Sean told them Devlin was his father, and his mother had been killed by a drunk driver. And you could tell he was really emotional, and you could see him kind of tear up over it. It was all part of a script Devlin had written for him. What did Sean say about school? Well, at first he told me he was homeschooled. He was homeschooled? Mm-hmm.

And then he told me, you know, by his grandmother as well, then that he was in a private school. And we just never questioned it. It probably should have, though. Yeah. The Douglases say they had no reason not to believe him. By all appearances, Michael Devlin was a good father. If anything, they say, too good.

I could tell you that he spoiled him rotten. If he wanted a bike, if he wanted a new game system, a new video game, anything, he got it. Over the next four years, Sean and the Douglas family were inseparable. They took him to balloon races, malls, restaurants. They spent holidays together. They even had sleepovers. Not once during that time did Sean reveal his identity. I'm sure he was scared, but I would have hoped that as close as he was to the family, he would have trusted that he could have said something to us. And I think that's what bothers me the most.

And they're bothered because there were at least two occasions when Sean could have asked them for help. In 2006, Sean and Tony were stopped by local police for riding their bikes after curfew and escorted back to the apartment complex. And Sean said nothing to the officers. No. Nothing. A team of volunteers and law enforcement agents have been focused...

Kelly Douglas also remembers one day when they were watching TV and a news report about Sean flashed on the screen. And he was sitting right there, you know, in the wicker chair, still remember it. Same face, you know, he didn't frown, he didn't do anything. Kelly asked him, is that you? And he laughed and he said no. And then he said, whatever, you know, just the typical teenager type talk. And then he said, whatever, you know, just the typical teenager type talk.

So why didn't Sean speak up? Why didn't he run? It's the question on everyone's mind. Nobody has the right to judge anybody. And people see it in their power to judge me. They don't know what I went through. They weren't there. They didn't have to suffer mine and my parents' pain. You asked me not to ask Sean about why he did not identify himself

and allow himself to be rescued. Why? Because at this point, I don't think he's ready to talk about it. It's not worth putting Sean through any more guilt just so I can satisfy my curiosity or you can satisfy your curiosity. We know from people who've had this experience, such as Patty Hurst and Elizabeth Smart, that they are told that if they run, they will be killed or their family, their loved ones will be killed. Dr. Marilyn Cloitra is a New York University psychologist and trauma specialist. So this is control by fear? Yes, I'd say it's control by terror. Terror, which in Sean's case was reinforced with frequent physical and sexual violence. Whether, you know, Sean went to a pizza parlor, he went to a friend's house,

sort of the message was still in his head. And because Sean was just a child when he was kidnapped, Dr. Cloitre says he would have been especially vulnerable to coercion. Many people feel damaged, and they wonder whether they'll be seen as damaged, sort of quote, damaged goods, and be accepted again. But although his parents didn't realize it at the time, Sean did try to contact them twice during his captivity, by sending emails to their website.

There was a posting from someone who called themselves Sean Devlin, and it was just one sentence, how long are you planning to look for your son? But the Akers didn't realize Sean Devlin was in fact their son and did not respond to the emails. It was Sean's way of trying to give us the information we needed to bring him home. I can't look at my parents and tell them that it's their fault

and I hate them and et cetera, et cetera. I can't do that because really to me it wasn't their fault. To me it was Devlin's fault. But on the advice of his attorneys, Michael Devlin is pleading not guilty to the charges against him. Do you wish to address the court? In October 2007, nine months after their son was rescued, Sean's parents are about to confront him in court.

I lost special moments with my parents as a part of my life that just got thrown away. What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear? Jeez. Most people would say their greatest fear is dying, but that's not mine. I'd have to say my greatest fear is probably not being understood. Nine months after Sean Hornbeck's rescue, the world is about to learn the truth of what he suffered at the hands of Michael Devlin. The man who kidnapped, tortured, and held him for four and a half years.

What sentence would satisfy you? To make sure he spends the rest of his life behind bars, to make sure he never gets out, make sure there's absolutely no possibility of parole, and to make sure he has no communication whatsoever with children. All rise. over with children. All rise. A much thinner Michael Devlin is charged with 80 counts of sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

What was it like seeing this man? It was horrible to be in that courtroom and to see him walk in. I was furious. I was angry. You know, every ounce of me wanted just to get to him. But in a surprise move, How do you plead to the charges against you? Guilty.

Michael Devlin changes his plea to guilty, avoiding a trial. After prosecutors reveal, they found videotapes and photos of him abusing Sean in the apartment. That was a big thing off of my shoulders. I really didn't want to get up there and testify. I felt the deepest loneliness, the most anger, and the deepest loss and betrayal that any person could feel. Before Devlin is sentenced, Pam and Craig Akers share with the judge the pain of losing their son for so many years

and plead for a lengthy sentence. He tore an 11-year-old child from his family, destroyed his innocence, and attempted to end his life. Mr. Devlin, do you know of any legal reason why the court should not sentence you at this time? No, Your Honor. Very well. As to count one...

Devlin gives no explanation for his unspeakable crimes. 61, 62... And is sentenced on multiple counts to 72 life terms and an additional 170 years in prison. The only thing I will say, Mr. Devlin, is that you heaped unimaginable heartache on a lot of people in this case, not the least of which was the children involved. You will have plenty of time to think about this while you spend the rest of your life in the penitentiary.

Tighten the chain up again. With the legal proceedings behind him, Sean can now begin a new life. I've lived two lives. I had to start over again from when I was kidnapped. That life's gone, so I'm picking up this life again. And I've got what I wanted most in life, was to be back with my family.

Sean, now 17, is getting back to his childhood passion, motocross, catching up with his old friends, and going to school for the first time since fifth grade. It was different getting back into the swing of school, but I caught on to it quick. Remarkably, in just a year and a half, Sean has caught up to his peers. He'll graduate from high school next spring. It amazes me how well you're doing in school, Sean.

It amazes everybody. It does. I mean, who would have thunk it, eh? As for any lingering resentment, Sean says he's too busy now thinking about the good things in life. You know what? You're not the person I expected to meet. I get that a lot. I was expecting to meet a young man who was very angry, who was raging inside. No one would blame you. I've never really been an angry person. But how do you put this ordeal behind you without being angry still? Well, at every end of a dark tunnel, there's always a bright light, you know. He's like your third batch of kittens.

Ben Omby is starting fresh too. He began high school last fall. No anxiety about high school? Not really. No? I just gotta figure out how to get around. It's a maze. Sean and his parents say that therapy is helping them get through an experience

they will carry with them forever. It's always going to be with me. That's something that I've learned. That's something I've come to cope with. From what I understand from your parents, there are some things that you haven't shared with them. Is that to protect them? In some ways, yeah. And in other ways, I'm just not ready. Yeah, we're not going to push him. He knows that whenever he is ready, he can come to us. For now, Sean and his parents are just enjoying life together as a family. See what happens when I try that gear? You're happy?

Mm-hmm, very. Couldn't be happier. What are you most grateful for, Sean? Most grateful for, besides being home? Having a loving family. It's kind of a new normalcy for us, and I'm just so fortunate to be in this position so fortunate to have our son back for Pam and Craig there's only one way to explain Shawn's astonishing rescue and return is your son the Missouri miracle

I believe so I do believe that miracles happen, and I do believe it was a miracle that brought John home. The FBI says an investigation found no link between Michael Devlin and any other kidnapping or abuse cases. Sean's stepfather, Craig Akers, died in 2019. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.