Naman Shrestha
In the summer of 2013, a talented 19-year-old aspiring musician named Jessie Blodgett met her untimely and tragic demise, sending shockwaves across the entire community of Hartford, Wisconsin. Investigation Discovery’s ‘A Killer Among Friends: Your Smiles and Your Lies’ chronicles the entire case and the swift investigation that ensued. Thanks to the CCTV footage and DNA evidence, the police managed to apprehend the perpetrator responsible for the brutal murder.
Jessie Blodgett Was Found Dead in Her Room by Her Mother
Born on March 22, 1994, in Marietta, Georgia, to Buck and Joy Blodgett, Jessie Marietta Blodgett was an aspiring actress and musician who had big dreams for her future. After graduating from Hartford Union High School in 2012, she attended University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2013. Thanks to her talents, she had earned a distinguished Talent Scholarship from the School of Music Education. Jessie also taught voice, piano, and violin lessons to several Hartford students. Moreover, she made it her habit to volunteer at the Central Middle School Orchestra summer program each year. Being an important part of the community, she was a staunch advocate for male against female violence, environmentalism, social justice, and sustainable living.
Jessie also served as the fiddler with the Hartford Players in Fiddler on the Roof. On July 14, 2013, she gave a commendable performance as the titular character for the theater production, after which she attended its cast party. As per her mother, Joy, she returned home in the early hours of July 15, around 1 am. The following afternoon, the 19-year-old sophomore college student was found dead in her bedroom by her mother. After the authorities arrived at the scene of the crime, they secured the perimeter and inspected the bedroom and her remains. They found ligature marks on her neck, ankles, and left wrist. The autopsy results indicated that she died of ligature strangulation. During the inspection of the crime scene, the detectives came across a roll of tape under her footboard.
Jessie Blodgett’s Killer Had Attacked Another Woman a Few Days Before the Murder
During the investigation, the authorities interviewed Jessie Blodgett’s family and friends in order to identify possible suspects with motive to commit the murder. Her mother, Joy, claimed that Jessie told her that a couple of older men approached and flirted with her. One of the men was a fellow castmate of her theater production, Fiddler on the Roof. Upon questioning, he claimed that it was just him joking around. When the detectives could not find anything concrete to link him to the crime, they moved on to the other man, who was also ruled out as a potential suspect. Unexpectedly, the police got a new lead who was also tied to another violent crime just a few days prior to Jessie’s murder.
The survivor, Melissa Richards, reported that she was attacked in the parking lot of a local park by a man wielding a knife. She bravely managed to survive the attack and described his appearance and his vehicle, a blue Dodge Caravan. Through the detailed description of the van, the police were led straight to a 19-year-old man named Daniel Bartelt. When they learned that he was also close to Jessie Blodgett, whom he dated for a while in high school, he was considered a suspect in that case too. During his questioning, he admitted that he had attacked Melissa with a knife. “I wanted to scare someone else, because everyone else is so confident. I don’t understand it. I need someone to be like me,” he elaborated.
The Killer Was Connected to the Homicide Via DNA Evidence
However, Daniel denied having any involvement whatsoever in the killing of Jessie. As part of his alibi, he claimed that he was at Woodlawn-Union Park on the day of the murder. Although his alibi checked out as he was spotted at the park in surveillance footage, the investigators found an incriminating piece of evidence against him. On July 18, 2013, the detectives searched all the garbage cans at the park, only to come across a cereal box, which contained bloody rope, bloody sanitizing wipes, wadded electrical tape, antiseptic towels, wrappers with red stains, and a masking tape roll.
Daniel’s DNA and fingerprints were not found on the roll of tape found inside the cereal box, but also on the tape recovered from under Jessie’s bed. Moreover, the police dug deep into his online search history and found searches for serial killers and a pornographic video with a plot similar to the murder. On July 31, with a mountain of physical evidence against him, 19-year-old Daniel was arrested and charged with the murder of Jessie Blodgett, his friend and former classmate at Hartford Union High School. Apart from the first-degree intentional homicide, he also faced three other charges related to the attack on Melissa Richards, including one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count of false imprisonment.
Daniel Bartelt is Currently Incarcerated at a Wisconsin Prison Facility
After being deemed fit to stand trial, Daniel Bartelt’s murder trial got underway in August 2014. The prosecution claimed that he targeted Jessie Blodgett because it was convenient. Meanwhile, the defendant maintained his innocence. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for about three hours before reaching a verdict. Ultimately, he was convicted of first-degree intentional murder. A couple of months later, on October 14, Daniel was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Maintaining his innocence, Daniel took the stand and addressed Jessie’s parents directly.
He stated, “Buck and Joy (Jessie’s parents), I can’t give you the answers you are looking for. This jumpsuit I am wearing doesn’t make me guilty. I hope eventually you will take the opportunity to hear me out. I want to have a dialogue.” He also apologized for the family’s loss. Jessie’s father, Buck, also addressed the killer and stated, “The truth will set you free, but only when you tell it. For 457 days, you’ve lived a lie. You thought only of yourself. It’s cost you and us dearly. As long as you’re alive, you still have a chance to own what you did.” As of today, he is serving his sentence at Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
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