Bartelt was convicted of murdering Blodgett and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole

It’s been 13 years since 19-year-old Wisconsin theater student Jessie Blodgett was killed by her friend and former boyfriend, Daniel Bartelt.

The incident, which took place in July 2013, stunned the town of Hartford, Wis., as Blodgett’s friends and family tried to solve the question of who killed her and why.

The authorities were immediately on the case, and following a 16-day investigation, Bartelt was arrested and charged with the murder of his friend. Since then, he has continued to maintain his innocence.

Here’s everything to know about Jessie Blodgett’s murder, Daniel Bartelt’s conviction and where he is now.

Who was Jessie Blodgett?

Blodgett was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she was studying theater.

On July 14, 2013, Blodgett came home late from a cast party after a performance of Fiddler on the Roof. According to a police affidavit obtained by ABC News, Blodgett returned at 1 a.m., and her mom discovered her lifeless body in Blodgett’s bed around 12 p.m. the next day.

Investigators stated that there were signs of strangulation on her neck, but they couldn’t find a weapon in her room. Shortly after, the police got a search warrant to look through the teenager’s phone records and Facebook account, on which she wrote about the play and posted a photo of herself with the rest of the cast.

An autopsy later confirmed that Blodgett had been bound and strangled, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Who is Daniel Bartelt?

Blodgett and Bartelt knew each other for several years, and according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, they had previously dated early on in high school. The former couple stayed friends and spoke regularly.

“Jessie and Dan sit together at school; he was a straight-A student … they would write songs together and sing together. He was welcome in our home,” Jessie’s father, Buck Blodgett, said in a 2025 episode of A Killer Among Friends.

In a twist, after Blodgett was found dead in her bed, Bartelt showed up to support her family.

“He was just over, the day after Jessie’s murder, sharing hugs and memories and tears with us until his phone rang and he was called in for questioning,” Buck explained.

While there were unanswered questions about the tragedy, police were piecing together clues and instances related to Bartelt’s activity outside of Blodgett’s home.

Days before her murder, he had attacked a woman in a nearby park on July 12. While the victim was out walking with her dog, Bartelt charged at her with a knife. She was able to wrestle the weapon away from Bartelt, and he drove off in his van.

WISN 12 News reported that Bartelt later admitted to attacking the woman. He was charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor.

How did the police catch Daniel Bartelt?

Authorities zeroed in on Bartelt as a suspect in Blodgett’s killing when he mentioned an element of the crime that had not yet been made public.

While being questioned by the police, Bartelt said someone had “raped and murdered” Jessie, but the rape detail was not known to those outside of the investigation, according to A Killer Among Friends.

Police were able to obtain video footage of Bartelt walking through Woodlawn Park on the day of Blodgett’s murder. They then searched the park’s trash cans and found ropes, bloody sanitizing wipes and tape inside a discarded cereal box.

Once tested, it was later confirmed that the evidence contained Blodgett and Bartelt’s DNA.

Per Oxygen.com, investigators also found “disturbing online search history” on Bartelt’s computer, “including multiple queries about serial killers.”

Why did Daniel Bartelt kill Jessie Blodgett?

Bartelt did not give an answer as to why he killed Blodgett, and maintains his innocence.

“I can’t give you the reasons you are looking for. There’s no hiding from yourself in a tiny, concrete cell,” Bartelt told Blodgett’s parents during his sentencing hearing, per Milwaukee’s Fox 6. “This jumpsuit that I’m wearing, these shackles don’t make me guilty. I know there’s evidence that I can’t refute that would make you believe that I am guilty.”

Still, prosecutors argued during the trial that Bartelt likely targeted Blodgett because it was “convenient,” according to Oxygen.com.

Blodgett’s friends told ABC News that Bartelt had “professed rekindled interest” in her, but that she didn’t feel the same way.

What was Daniel Bartelt charged with?

Bartelt was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide for Blodgett’s death, per Milwaukee’s Fox 6.

He also faced a second count of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of false imprisonment for the alleged attack against the woman with her dog.

Where is Daniel Bartelt now?

Bartelt was found guilty on Aug. 19, 2014 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Oct. 14, 2014. He’s currently imprisoned in the Wisconsin Waupun Correctional Institution and maintains he is innocent.

“I find that the gravity of this offense, the premeditation, the brutality, is so overwhelming I think the Blodgetts are entitled to know that even after they’re gone, there’s no chance the defendant will ever walk the streets again and endanger someone else,” Judge Todd Martens said at the sentencing hearing, per WISN 12 News.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Buck also told Bartelt he forgave him. “I not only forgive you, I love you,” he said.

“I didn’t mean it like I like him, like I want to hang out and watch Packer games,” Buck later explained. “But like a willful act of what I want to bring to this world, which is the opposite of what he brought in and took out of this world.”

Blodgett’s legacy has lived on in the years since her death. In 2016, her father founded the Love Is Greater Than Hate Project in her honor.

Buck said his daughter’s “last big cause in life was male violence against women. She was just fiercely outspoken about that for a year or two before her death.”

Source: https://people.com/jessie-blodgett-death-what-to-know-where-is-killer-daniel-bartelt-now-12016889