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He Said 'Raped and Murdered': The Fatal Slip That Caught a Killer
24 Jan
Summary
- Bartelt admitted details not released to the public.
- Evidence found in park trash linked Bartelt to the crime.
- He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
More than a decade after Jessie Blodgett, a 19-year-old theater student, was murdered, the case is being revisited. Blodgett was found dead in her bed on July 15, 2013, with signs of strangulation. Investigators quickly focused on her friend and former boyfriend, Daniel Bartelt.
Bartelt's involvement became clear when he mentioned that Blodgett had been "raped and murdered," a detail not yet public. A subsequent search of a nearby park uncovered ropes, bloody wipes, and tape containing both Blodgett's and Bartelt's DNA.
Bartelt was also linked to an unrelated knife attack days before Blodgett's murder. In October 2014, he was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and received a life sentence without parole. He currently resides at the Wisconsin Waupun Correctional Institution, still professing his innocence.
Blodgett's father founded the Love Is Greater Than Hate Project in her honor, focusing on raising awareness about male violence against women, a cause she passionately supported.
