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Updated Feb. 4, 2006
On Monday, December 5, 2005, the body of Oxford resident Amy Bledsoe, 19, was discovered in the woods off route 7. A local hunter made the gruesome discovery. The murdered female had apparently been stabbed to death.
The body was found fully dressed, wrapped in a clear paint tarp at approximately 5:57 AM. Among the evidence collected from the scene was the victim's purse and a cell phone that has been identified as also belonging to the victim. A black hair that was collected was later determined as consistent with a sample taken from a cosmetic brush.
Three intact partial latent fingerprints were discovered on two edges of the tarp the victim was wrapped in. It was determined the prints did not belong to victim. Samples were also taken of possible blood stains, later analyzed as type A+.
The Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department conducted an interview with Fred Anderson to find out whether he had seen or heard anything unusual prior to discovering the body and to determine exactly what he was doing in the area. Also questioned were Mr. Anderson's hunting companions.
Detectives spoke with the victim's mother, Mary Bledsoe, to discover when she last saw or spoke with her daughter and to get information about the victims personal life. She stated that her daughter had an appointment for a job interview with a local photographer, Greg Cassidy, early in the evening and that a friend, Kayla Pecan, was to pick her daughter up from the interview and the two girls were going to stay the night at Ms. Pecans home. Mrs. Bledsoe was understandably upset in the first interview so for clarification the detectives spoke with her again at a later date.
In a separate interview, Kayla Pecan denies having any arrangements with the victim on the evening of the murder.
Mr. Cassidy confirmed in his first interview with the detectives that he did indeed have a scheduled appointment with the victim but that Ms. Bledsoe never arrived for the meeting. More questions were answered, including what type and color vehicle Mr. Cassidy owned in a second interview.
Separate interviews were conducted with the victim's father, Victor Bledsoe and his wife Jessica Bledsoe. Mrs. Bledsoe confirmed that her husband was with her the night of the murder but because of conflicting comments that were made in different statements regarding the relationship between the victim and her step-mother Mr. Bledsoe was re-interviewed.
The boyfriend of the victim, Carl Yates, was also questioned regarding his relationship with the victim and his location at the time of the murder. Mr. Yates confirms in his interview with Detectives Armstrong and Murphy that he and the victim had been in a relationship since the preceding spring of this year and were still close. In a follow-up interview Mr.Yates states he went to a local restaurant, Huddle House, after spending the day fishing at Sardis, a local lake. He gave detectives the name of a classmate, Gerry Albright, who could confirm that Mr. Yates was indeed at the restaurant.
Looking for any and all possible motives the detectives also questioned Helen Masters, ex-girlfriend of Carl Yates.
A full autopsy was performed on the body of deceased and the submitted Coroner's Report confirms that death was caused by multiple stab wounds. The report estimates the homicide occurred between 6:00 and 9:00 pm on December 4. Cosmetic samples were also lifted from the victim's skin and analyzed. Blood, tissue and fluid analysis are pending.
The Y.C.S.D is steadily interviewing all possible witnesses. A canvass of co-workers and a canvass of the neighborhood of the victim was conducted. Information about a stranger inquiring about Ms.Bledsoe led the detectives to speak with co-worker Susan Orchard again. In trying to discover the identity of the stranger the detectives then proceeded to speak with the victim's employer, Houng Phoung, which led them to believe the stranger was possibly Private Investigator Jake Polaski. This possibility was later confirmed in an interview with Mr. Polaski.
Of interest to the detectives was the knowledge that Mr. Polaski was hired by Helen Masters. Ms. Masters was then re-questioned since she lied in her previous interview.
After procuring a search warrant an in depth record of victim's cell phone activity for the previous six days prior to her murder was obtained.
A local resident, Buzz Dakota, came forward with a significant tip for the detectives to follow. Mr. Dakota witnessed a vehicle parked on the street watching the Bledsoe residence. The license plate of the unknown vehicle is registered to Victor Bledsoe. In a second follow-up interview Mr. Bledsoe admitted to being on Van Buren St. hoping to see his daughter that evening. He states that he never did see Amy and then left to go visit a lady friend.
Detectives Armstrong and Murphy went to the home of Mary Bledsoe to ask for consent to search the victims bedroom and the garage. The search resulted in knowledge that Ms.Bledsoe was apparently apartment hunting. |
