Jessie Blodgett, a talented teen was found sexually assaulted and strangled to death in her bed by her ex-boyfriend on July 15, 2013.
The details of the murder and the investigations were featured in an episode of the NBC television reality show Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. The episode was hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Craig Melvin who took us through the mysterious murder of the teen, Jessie.
Jessie was found dead on her bed by her mother when she returned home for lunch. The teen had returned home at 12:30 am late night from a cast party. She had bagged the lead role in the community theatre production of “Fiddler on the Roof”.
The mother of the dead called 911 frantically and the secrets of the murder were uncovered in less than four hours of investigation.
Dateline: Jessie Blodgett Wikipedia- Who Killed The Teenager?
The brutal murder of Jessie by her ex-boyfriend turned friend was aired on season 10 of Dateline as the episode “Friends Until Death” on June 22, 2022.
She seemed a bit upset after the pool party and when her mother asked about it she said that two of the men in their 40s had flirted with her during the party. She had also journaled about the incident that night.
Soon the men were questioned by the Hartford Police Detectives but no connection was found between them and the murder. the investigation took a whole new direction when police found out about another violent riot on Melissa Richards just a few days before the murder.
Melissa was just walking around RichField Park on July 12 when Daniel Bartlet attacked her with a knife. She gave the details of the boy and the van he had been driving to the police.
It turned out that Daniel had been watching serial killers and pornographic content online before he planned the attack.
Bartlet was the ex-boyfriend of Blodgett and the two dated for some time during their high school days. The two broke up before attending university and had remained close friends.
It was proved that Bartlet had used a rope to strangle Jessie after raping her. His DNA traces were found on the fingernails and genital areas of the deceased.
Police also found a cereal box with ropes, tape, antiseptics, and bloody paper towels in a trash can that contained the DNA of both Bartlet and Jessie.
Although it was clear that Bartlet had killed the teenager, he did not give the exact reason for the murder.
Jessie Blodgett Age
Jessie was only 19 years of age when she was brutally assaulted and murdered by her friend.
She attended the Hartford Union High School where she had met her ex-boyfriend Daniel. They performed in school productions and shared some common interests in music.
Bartlet was 20 years old when he killed his ex-girlfriend. They both attended the University of Wisconsin and decided to remain friends even after breaking up. Bartlet later dropped out of Steven’s Point Campus.
The killer was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was declared guilty of the homicide.
Jessie Blodgett Family
The murder of the Wisconsin teen came as a shock to her family and friends.
Blodgett was a music lover and also recorded several songs with Bartlet. She was quite outspoken and loved by all. Jessie used to share everything with her parents and her house was a regular spot for her peers.
She was the only child of Buck and Joy Blodgett. They were devasted to find someone who was a regular visitor to their home murdered their daughter.
“I can’t say that he’s totally evil, but something went very wrong. I don’t know what.”, Joy said as per the Oxygen True Crime.