For better or worse, life connects family members by time, blood, or both. We first learn of life from those who grow around us. We learn to love and interact with the world from our experiences within the home. As a father, I find that one of the most challenging tasks of a parent is to protect their child. We hope, for instance, that by pretending there is a Santa, a child can enjoy one of the more festive times of the year.
Sometimes we misdirect those we love. We do so to keep our children from seeing a harsher reality we feel they're not prepared to witness. What happens, however, when we misdirect ourselves from realizing our failure to misdirect as we intend? While chance favors the ready mind, we can't prepare for everything. This concept is especially true when a tragic and horrific event occurs after our interference.
Marriage, Love and Peace
Heidi and Floyd Bledsoe lived within a trailer home in Oskaloosa, Kansas. They lived a humble life with their two sons. They loved each other despite a rocky relationship. Despite their troubles, they worked to improve the lives of themselves and those they loved. The Bledsoe family also took care of their own.
Heidi invited her sister Camille to live in their home, and the family grew by one. One day after getting home from school, she hopped off the bus and went to meet the family in their trailer home. Soon after, the world would never see her alive again.
All in the Family
Oskaloosa, Kansas is a small church-going community that tries to care for its own. When the family started searching for Camille, the town helped without hesitation. The town could find Camille nowhere. It seemed like the community had lost all hope. The family's church discussed Camille and the search activities to coordinate its efforts better. There was nothing more they could do until the church pastor received a fateful call from Floyd's brother Tom.
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The Word for S5W4
The Word for THIS week (S5W4) is: MISDIRECTION
The Word for the next contest-week (S5W5) is:
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Murder and Misdirection
Floyd Bledsoe
Where is Camille? Floyd and Heidi spent days handing out fliers, searching all areas. They asked for help, received it, and continued to search everywhere they could consider.
Word eventually reached him that police found Camille's body on his parent's property. The killer was also in custody and was no other than his brother Tom. He rushed to the police station to find out if this was true.
Tom Bledsoe
Tom admitted to his pastor that he was so sorry for what he did to Camille. Shortly after that admission, he surrendered himself to the police. Tom confessed to them too, turned in the murder weapon, and even showed them the location of Camille's body. Tom did all this before his parents reached him.
The Betrayal
After speaking to his parents, Tom changed his confession. Tom reported to police that his brother Floyd committed the murder and rape of the 14-year old Camille. According to Tom, Floyd pressured him into confessing to the crime. Floyd knew that Tom tried to have sex with a dog and masturbated to pornography. If Tom didn't admit to the crime, Floyd would tell the whole town what Tom had done.
Yet, their betrayal of Floyd didn't end there. Tom and Floyd's parents came to the aid of Tom. They testified that Tom was with them the entire day and was never outside of the parents' sight. With no physical evidence connecting Floyd to the murders, a jury of his peers sentenced him to life without parole. No one wanted Tom incarcerated. Floyd would end up taking the fall.
Floyd once pleaded with his mother to help him and repeatedly told her that he had nothing to do with these horrid acts. His mother responded that she knew Tom didn't do it. She also said that next Floyd would be blaming his father for the crime too. Tom was the clear favorite of the family.
Imprisoned and Exonerated
Imprisonment
And so fate would have an innocent man sent to prison. His parents, prosecution, defense, and even police misdirected suspicions away from Tom and onto Floyd. The world will never truly know the reason for such incompetence and betrayal.
Exoneration
After ten years in prison, Floyd caught the attention of the Innocence Project. They accepted his case and proceeded to do what law enforcement failed to do: Analyze the DNA of the crime scene. What they found would lead to Floyd's freedom 15 years after his arrival to life imprisonment.
Life After Prison
Floyd reflects on the past now without anger. He takes things day by day and appreciates the little things that life offers. He has forgiven his parents and even his brother Tom. In prison, Floyd learned that living with hate is living without worth. There's nothing to be gained from seeking revenge or holding a grudge against people who have done you wrong. Unfortunately, there are some questions following his exoneration that he hopes to have answers to someday.
DNA Results
The DNA analysis requested by the Innocence Project showed that Tom's DNA, and not Floyd's, were present on Camille's clothing. However, this wasn't the only result discovered. Testing also showed that Floyd's father's DNA was also present on Camille's sock. The results suggested that Tom and Floyd's dad helped Tom dispose of the body. Police have made no new arrests to date.
Tom Bledsoe
Approximately one week after the Innocence Project announced the DNA testing results, Tom killed himself. He left a suicide note stating that he killed Camille and sent his innocent brother to jail. Their parents have admitted no wrongdoing and are refusing interviews.
In Closing
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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