Who is Jaqueline Bledsoe? Virginia woman who shot dead boyfriend relocated his body as she didn’t want to upset her dogs
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
BUMPASS, VIRGINIA: In a perplexing incident, Jaqueline Bledsoe, 56, a resident of Bumpass, Virginia, went to extraordinary lengths to prevent her beloved show dogs from witnessing the aftermath of a cold-blooded murder.
Later, she confessed to the gruesome act of shooting and killing her 59-year-old boyfriend, Melvin Hansen, inside her barn. As per her account, she even moved Hansen's lifeless body from the barn, to spare her show dogs from any distress, according to Law and Crime.
On Thursday, September 21, Bledsoe was finally convicted of second-degree murder.
Why did Jaqueline Bledsoe kill Melvin Hansen?
According to prosecutors, on June 4, 2022, shortly after 9 pm, Jaqueline Bledsoe received a text from her boyfriend, Melvin Hansen, who stated his intention to break up, which seems to be her motive behind the murder.
Then, exactly three hours and 20 minutes later, she called the non-emergency line at the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office. The nature of this emergency call left even seasoned prosecutor McGuire astounded, as he noted it was unlike anything he had encountered in his 25 years of legal practice.
"Hi. Oh, it's fine. How are you doing," said Bledsoe, adding, "I was calling to say that I shot someone earlier and I wasn’t sure what you do about that."
She even claimed that Hansen was a "renter" who "keeps trying to be my boyfriend, I guess you could say," as per the call recording.
Louisa Commonwealth Attorney Rusty McGuire told Law and Crime in a phone interview Friday, “Twenty years ago, she would have gotten away with murder”.
"The victim may have fit the stereotype in the sense that he had never had much income, just did tree work and kind of looked a bit rough, and she’s just this little old lady who said he attacked her, choked her, and she had no choice but to shoot him," said the attorney.
During the call, as dispatch attempted to ascertain the precise location on the property where Hansen had been shot, Bledsoe made a bewildering remark, stating, "He was dead in the barn, but I didn't want my dogs, who were all in the barn, to have to be worried about all of that."
"So, I had to pull him out of the barn, yes ma'am. I didn't want my dogs upset about him, so that's why I pulled him out."
What are the charges against Jaqueline Bledsoe?
Following a two-day jury trial in Louisa County, Virginia, Jaqueline Bledsoe was found guilty of second-degree murder on Thursday.
She has also been found guilty of using a firearm while committing the crime. Bledsoe is scheduled for sentencing in January 2024 and might go to prison for up to 43 years.
Modern forensic analysis, specifically involving Bledsoe's vehicle, played a pivotal role in dismantling her alibi and revealing the truth surrounding Hansen's fate that night.
During the lengthy and incoherent call to the police, the perpetrator initially recounted a sequence of events in which she claimed that the victim had assaulted her.
According to her version of events, she had fled from him, running up her long driveway to reach her home, where they engaged in another altercation inside the barn.
Bledsoe asserted that Hansen's anger stemmed from his belief that she was involved in a romantic relationship with a neighbor. Inside the barn, she alleged to have raised a firearm to warn him not to advance any further.
"He didn’t listen and that’s what happened," said Bledsoe, adding that she "just pulled the ticker," as per Law and Crime.
What did Jaqueline Bledsoe say in her defense against Melvin Hansen?
Despite Jaqueline Bledsoe's claims that Melvin Hansen had choked and physically assaulted her on multiple occasions, detectives noted a lack of visible injuries on her body when she was arrested.
Prosecutor Rusty McGuire revealed that the man Bledsoe had asked for assistance in moving Hansen's body had advised her that if she wanted to avoid legal consequences, she should assert self-defense and display signs of bruising or choke marks.
During the police interview conducted after the murder, there was a three-hour break in the session.
When the interview resumed, Bledsoe mentioned having a bruise on her elbow that she had initially forgotten about.
During her testimony, which extended for over four hours, the 56-year-old contended that she had acted out of fear for her own life.