Where is Jennifer Schuett now? We explain the whereabouts of a victim of a child kidnapper in 2023. This article contains details that some readers will find disturbing.
Jennifer Schuett’s story is one of tragedy. In 1990, when she was just eight years old, she was abducted by a man from her Texas home, assaulted in a field, and left to die.
She was found, but because of a lack of evidence and leads, her case went unsolved for almost 20 years.
But throughout all of that time, Schuett kept talking about her case, and eventually, due to advances in technology, a man was arrested for his crimes against Schuett. He never stood trial because he committed suicide before it took place.
While this devastated Schuett, she has been able to carry on and has kept on raising awareness about child abuse.
What exactly happened to Jennifer Schuett?
Jennifer Schuett was only eight when, in the early hours of August 10, 1990, she was abducted from her home in Dickinson, Texas, by a man she didn’t know. She tried to scream to alert her mum, but the man prevented this by covering her nose and mouth. She was taken to an overgrown field and sexually assaulted, which caused her to pass out.
When she became conscious again, she was lying naked on an ant hill, and her throat was slashed from ear to ear. She thought that she was going to die. After 12 hours, she was found by a group of children who were playing tag and hide and seek. She was rushed to hospital and was able to give a written description of her attacker.
Despite doctors warning Schuett that she may never speak again, Schuett regained her voice.
DNA evidence was found at the scene, but at the time, it was too little to be able to do anything with. The case went cold. Schuett never stopped talking about what happened to her, though.
18 years later, her case would be revived by the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team, which was looking for cases that could be retested for DNA evidence.
Technology enabled the FBI to work with even a small amount of DNA evidence to compare it with potential matches. In September 2009, Dennis Bradford was named and arrested.
But Bradford would never stand trial, as he killed himself before it could take place.
Where is Jennifer Schuett Now?
Using her voice, Schuett has shared her story with others. In 2022, she talked about the night she was kidnapped and abused at a Child Abuse Prevention breakfast. She’s attended several talks before. In 2021, she spent her time going up and down the USA to use her voice to tell her story and raise awareness.
In her own personal life, she is now the proud mother of two children, Jenna and Jonah. It’s another example of how Schuett has managed to overcome the odds of her situation, as she was left infertile after the attack. A Texas doctor helped her use Invitro treatment twice.
Schuett has been married to Jonathan Martinez since May 2014 and lives in League City, Texas.
Is Jennifer Schuett still alive?
Jennifer Schuett is still alive despite being left to die after the attack. She has made sure to live the rest of her life fully, devoting her time to the causes closest to her in her life.
What happened to Dennis Bradford?
Dennis Bradford was the man who confessed to the abduction and sexually assaulting her. He was arrested in Arkansas after the police were able to get a DNA match with him in September 2009. Before he could stand trial, he committed suicide.
In May 2010, just months before Bradford’s trial was supposed to begin, Schuett was told of this by phone. She described it as the worst phone call of her life, especially since she had worked hard to remember details of the attack. She wanted to face Bradford in court to read to him her victim impact statement.
On August 10, 2010, twenty years after she was abducted, Schuett visited Bradford’s grave and read out her statement.
