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Judge throws out 2000 murder conviction, frees Oskaloosa man after 15 years in prison
Judge throws out 2000 murder conviction, frees Oskaloosa man after 15 years in prison
By Karen Dillon
December 8, 2015, 3:03 p.m. Updated December 8, 2015, 6:26 p.m.
Oskaloosa — Floyd Scott Bledsoe was set free Tuesday after a Jefferson County judge overturned his life sentence for the 1999 murder of his 14-year-old sister-in-law.
New evidence, including DNA evidence and three suicide letters written by his brother Tom Bledsoe, indicate that Floyd Bledsoe was not the killer. Floyd Bledsoe spent more than 15 years in prison.
In the suicide letters that were found with his body in November, Tom Bledsoe, 41, admits to killing Zetta Camille Arfmann, and says he accidentally shot her after he had sex with her and learned that she was only 14.
During the Tuesday hearing, Floyd Bledsoe, 39, whose feet were shackled, remained sitting but broke into a broad grin after Jefferson County District Court Judge Gary Nafziger, who presided over his murder trial and sentencing, announced “the defendant is to be released.” ... The more than 40 people in the courtroom broke into applause, and some started crying.
By Karen Dillon
December 8, 2015, 3:03 p.m. Updated December 8, 2015, 6:26 p.m.
Oskaloosa — Floyd Scott Bledsoe was set free Tuesday after a Jefferson County judge overturned his life sentence for the 1999 murder of his 14-year-old sister-in-law.
New evidence, including DNA evidence and three suicide letters written by his brother Tom Bledsoe, indicate that Floyd Bledsoe was not the killer. Floyd Bledsoe spent more than 15 years in prison.
In the suicide letters that were found with his body in November, Tom Bledsoe, 41, admits to killing Zetta Camille Arfmann, and says he accidentally shot her after he had sex with her and learned that she was only 14.
During the Tuesday hearing, Floyd Bledsoe, 39, whose feet were shackled, remained sitting but broke into a broad grin after Jefferson County District Court Judge Gary Nafziger, who presided over his murder trial and sentencing, announced “the defendant is to be released.” ... The more than 40 people in the courtroom broke into applause, and some started crying.