The family of a teenager murdered by his ‘psychopath’ friend is fighting to prevent his killer from being released by liberal prison chiefs.
It has been almost 40 years since Eric Kane, 16, was stabbed to death by Jacob Wideman at an Arizona motel, but for his heartbroken parents Sandy and Louise Kane, ‘it still feels like yesterday’.
They were left devastated all over again in 2016, when Wideman, now 53, was released on home arrest after serving 30 years of his whole life sentence.
But within a matter of months the killer, who has married two former prison therapists, was back in prison for breaching the conditions of his release.
However, the Kanes now face fresh agony after receiving notice of a proposed agreement that would see Wideman let out on home arrest for a second time.
The family of a Eric Kane who was murdered by his ‘psychopath’ friend in 1986 is fighting to prevent his killer from being released by liberal prison chiefs.
‘My reason for fighting his release, given his mental history, is that I am convinced he will have a bad day, have an argument and have another break down and he will cause some other father to have to deal with a situation like this,’ Kane told DailyMail.com from his home in New York.
‘When you talk about a psychopath, this guy fits the definition of a psychopath to a tee. He has serious mental issues, the idea of letting him out of prison is crazy to me.’
Kane suspects the U-turn may be ‘politically motivated’ and linked to last year’s appointment of a new Director of the Department of Corrections by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
Eric and Wideman were staying in Flagstaff on their way to the Grand Canyon as part of a trip with their summer camp when the murder took place.
On August 13, 1986, the boys were bunking in the same room when Wideman got up without warning or provocation and fatally knifed his friend twice in the chest, leaving him to bleed out over an agonizing three hours.
He then stole the car the group had been traveling in, along with $3,000 in traveler’s checks and fled, eventually turning himself in when he ran out of money.
Jacob Wideman, 53, fatally knifed Eric in the chest two times as he slept while the teens were at an Arizona motel
When interviewed by police, Wideman reportedly told them: ‘I had a bad year, and I had to kill someone.’
He pleaded guilty to first degree murder and two counts of grand theft to avoid the death penalty.
While in jail, the killer confessed to murdering Shelli Wiley in Laramie, Wyoming, the year before Eric’s death.
However, he later recanted his admission, stating he made it up in an attempt to get the judge to hand down the death penalty as his mental health had taken a turn and he wanted to die.
The details provided by Wideman about the killing turned out to be inconsistent with the facts of the case and his confession was dismissed.
Throughout his time in jail, Wideman has engaged with various mental health professionals and has described a lifelong battle with intrusive violent thoughts.
He has since sought to prove he has his issues under control and if released again, Wideman would seek to move in with his wife, his former prison psychologist Marta DeSoto.
DeSoto is the second wife he met in such circumstances, after marrying and divorcing his first therapist.
Sandy and Louise Kane say Jacob Wideman is too dangerous to ever be allowed out of jail
Eric and Wideman were travelling to the Grand Canyon as part of a summer camp excursion when the murder occurred. Eric is seen here in the last image ever taken of him during the trip
DeSoto met Wideman in 2003 while training to be a psychologist at the unit where he was being held. She saw him in group and individual settings.
In 2006, Wideman divorced his first prison therapist wife Anne, while DeSoto quit the DOC.
Six months later, she received a letter from Wideman asking to be pen pals and the two began regular communication.
The couple got engaged in 2010 and went on to marry in 2013 in a small ceremony attended by Wideman’s mom and sister.
DeSoto went on to take her two young children to visit Wideman in prison. Her daughter, now in her twenties, has said she never feared the killer.
DeSoto was never reprimanded over the relationship, but did agree to take ethics classes as part of a non-disciplinary action following a complaint in 2012.
She continued assessing child protection cases for Arizona’s Department of Child Safety despite her husband’s past.
However, when details of her marriage were uncovered by ABC15, the Department terminated her contracts.
The Kanes said that Wideman’s dating history is just another example of his manipulative behaviors.
Wideman attacked his friend in cold-blood for no apparent reason before leaving him to bleed out over three hours
‘Ask yourself, what does it take for a guy to get two relationships in jail, let along with two licensed psychologists?’ Kane said. ‘If you look at his previous records you will see he had opportunities for other relationships in prison, so this is not unusual.’
Wideman is the son of acclaimed author John Wideman, whose brother was convicted of a second degree murder in 1975 as part of a botched robbery.
Wideman himself had no criminal history prior to the murder, but admitted to being plagued by violent images and impulses since childhood.
He was handed a whole life sentence for the murder, with eligibility for parole after 25 years served.
But at sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Coker recommended that Wideman never be granted parole, citing a lack of explanation into his heinous actions.
‘The lack of answer to the question why compels me to recommend to the Parole Board that you not be considered for any parole or for the rest of your life,’ Coker said.
Court transcripts of the sentencing lay bare the emotive and at times hostile atmosphere between the Kane and Wideman families.
But Eric’s father insists that at its core, his crusade to keep Wideman behind bars is one of public protection.
Whilst in jail, Wideman married his former prison psychologist Marta DeSoto
‘It would be easy for me to be dedicated to the punishment of Jacob Wideman and that would be truthful, I want to see him in prison, but it is not going to bring back my son,’ Kane explained.
The convicted killer served three decades of a whole life sentence for the murder before he was let out on home arrest in 2016.
He was recalled to prison eight months after his release for failing to meet with a psychologist as part of the conditions of his home arrest.
Wideman tried unsuccessfully to argue against the revocation, which was upheld.
His latest attempt was a filing to the Court of Appeals, in which he argued his recall did not follow due process.
The Kanes have now seen a copy of a proposed settlement agreement, which would dismiss the appeal and reinstate the conditions of his home arrest.
A meeting is due to be held on December 3 in which the Arizona Executive Board of Clemency are expected to consider the terms.
‘ADCRR is aware of a potential settlement agreement, which the Department will consider once the BOEC hearing is complete,’ a DOC spokesman said.
The proposed settlement has left the Kanes confused, as they feel confident Wideman’s appeal would have been dismissed if the court even agreed to hear it.
The couple have been married since 2014, two years before Wideman was granted home arrest for the first time
‘There is clearly only one explanation, and it is unfortunately political,’ Kane said, referencing the appointment of DOC Director Ryan Thornell.
‘Arizona’s new Governor and Attorney General are very liberal and seem to want to reduce the Arizona prison population without regard to the facts of an individual case like Wideman’s.’
Wideman’s attorneys have argued that the state ‘arbitrarily revoked his home arrest based on improper considerations and in disregard of the facts and circumstances’.
In his appeal, Wideman’s attorney Joshua Hamilton stated that he was recalled for failing to attend a psychologist appointment on July 18, 2017 after he was ordered to by his parole officer just the day before.
‘Wideman called that psychologist twice and left a message on July 18, but the doctor was out of the office and did not return the call until the following week,’ Hamilton said.
He said prior to this, his client had been a ‘model home arrestee’ and reported that his halfway house described him as a ‘positive role model’.
However, in a response to Wideman’s appeal, the Arizona Attorney General stated that, ‘over the course of several weeks Wideman failed to follow his Parole Officer’s directives to make an appointment with a mental health counselor’ and ‘intentionally delayed compliance’.
‘He gave a whole series of excuses, one after the other. At one point it was that the appointment was too expensive, but he is from a well-to-do family and he was still going out spending money on dinners and a gym membership,’ Kane explained.
Wideman pictured age 16 at the summer camp trip in which he killed Eric. Another camper’s face has been redacted to protect their privacy
The concerned father said he uncovered evidence that Wideman was violating his home arrest terms in other ways, by tracking GPS coordinates recorded on the killer’s ankle monitor.
Kane combed through pages of Wideman’s movements and said he located him in several places where he should not have been, such as around children.
But there are those who believe the killer should be allowed a second chance at home arrest.
Wideman’s case was taken up by the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization which examines inequalities in the justice system.
In the podcast series ‘Violation’, Wideman’s recall to prison was portrayed as a direct result of the Kanes’ influence and it questions whether overzealous officials are to blame for him being returned to jail.
The podcast argued that Wideman was subjected to intense, unprecedented scrutiny while on home arrest and suggested the DOC had betrayed its own guidelines in handing over information about Wideman’s movements to the Kanes.
It echoes statements made by Wideman’s attorney that Kane made ‘behind-the-scenes efforts to have Wideman arrested’.
The family, who refused to be interviewed for Violation, lambasted the podcast as ‘biased and once sided’ and Kane defended his work tracking Wideman.
‘I did not coerce anyone it was all public information,’ Kane said, explaining he obtained the GPS co-ordinates through a freedom of information request.
Eric was described as a ‘smart and funny’ teen, who was beloved by all who knew him
‘I don’t deny it, I wanted Wideman back where he belongs, but all I did was follow the rules no more, no less.’
Kane has dedicated his life to making sure his son’s killer stays behind bars, but amongst the painstaking work, the family make time to remember Eric.
‘We try not to make any acknowledgement of the day he died at all which is hard,’ Sandy explained. ‘
But we celebrate his birthday every year, we have a big dinner and my grandchildren, Eric’s nieces and nephews who never got to meet him they know all about him.
‘He was finally blossoming into the young man he was supposed to become. He was bright, very funny, he studied a lot, never got in a fight which is what made the whole thing so unbelievable. We miss him a lot.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Executive Board of Clemency for comment.
Attorney General Mayes’ office and Wideman’s attorney declined to comment.
