She Was 8 When a Man Kidnapped Her and Killed Her Family. Now Shasta Groene Shares How She Survived It All

Shasta Groene’s will to survive is the focus of the two-hour premiere episode of People Magazine Investigates

Once a month Shasta Groene revels in a ritual of self-care that starts with unpacking her subscription beauty box — oohing and aahing over her favorite nude lipsticks and shimmery eye shadows — delivered to the Boise, Idaho, area home she shares with her husband, Michael.

“It’s like Christmas over and over again,” she tells PEOPLE.

With four sons under the age of 7 and a fifth due in August, the 25-year-old spends most of her days in no-fuss mom mode. Her long, multicolored braids are usually tied back while she shuffles her kids to playdates or works as the supervising housekeeper at a nearby hotel. So it’s no wonder that she cherishes the days she gets to play with makeup and go glam.

“It makes me feel great,” she says, “like all the insecurities are gone.” After a pause, she adds quietly, “I guess I kind of hide behind makeup.”

Shasta has been hiding on and off for 17 years, ever since she was thrust into the national spotlight as the 8-year-old girl who tragically witnessed the murders of her family then somehow survived seven weeks of captivity and sexual assault by their killer.

The terrifying case that rocked a small, idyllic town in northern Idaho is the premiere two-hour episode of the new sixth season of People Magazine Investigates, airing June 6 on Investigation Discovery and discovery+.

“This case profoundly affected this community,” says retired Det. Sgt. Brad Maskell, the former lead investigator for the Kootenai County sheriff’s department. “To this day, everybody still talks about it.”

Now Shasta is determined to set the record straight despite the pain that still haunts her. She has vivid memories of the night Joseph Duncan III, a violent sexual predator out on parole, sneaked into her family’s home in rural Wolf Lodge, Idaho, and killed her mother, stepfather and one of her brothers (her two oldest brothers weren’t living there at the time).

Though she survived weeks of terror, her ongoing recovery from that trauma has been difficult. She physically escaped Duncan, who died last year of brain cancer while serving multiple life sentences on federal death row. Emotionally escaping has been an ongoing struggle.

Shasta is sharing her story in hopes it will empower other victims of violence and serve as her own catharsis. “You’re not your past,” Shasta says. “Every day is a new chapter.”