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20/20 Revisits Jessie Blodgett Murder With New Interviews, Forensic Focus

The broadcast traces how a survivor’s account, reinforced by DNA in a discarded cereal box, linked two crimes to Jessie’s former boyfriend.

Overview

  • ABC’s 20/20 airs “Her Last Note” on Friday, Jan. 23 (9–11 p.m. ET), with streaming the next day on Hulu and Disney+.
  • Three days before Jessie Blodgett, 19, was found strangled in her Hartford, Wisconsin home, Melissa Etzler survived a knife attack in a nearby park and described her assailant to police.
  • Investigators recovered rope, alcohol wipes and tape from a discarded Frosted Mini-Wheats box carrying DNA traces from Blodgett and Daniel Bartelt, linking the park attack to the homicide.
  • Bartelt confessed to the park assault during questioning and told authorities “someone raped and murdered her,” a non-public detail; he was convicted of Blodgett’s murder and sentenced to life without parole after a denied 2018 appeal.
  • The program features fresh interviews, including the survivor and Blodgett’s family, and highlights the LOVE>hate project launched by her father to promote violence prevention and forgiveness.