Man who claimed to be 'Chinese zodiac killer' arrested after sending threatening letters

Jonathon Wheeler, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read
1

May 20—LAFARGEVILLE — A LaFargeville man was arrested and charged on Thursday after allegedly sending threatening letters in the mail.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Albany, alleges that Jesse S. Bartlett, 46, claimed to be the "Chinese zodiac killer" and mailed threatening letters to news outlets, government offices, houses of worship and private businesses throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington D.C.

In the letters Bartlett is accused of sending, he claimed he had killed people and ate their flesh, and that he intended to kill more people.

The federal mailing threatening communications charge has a maximum sentence of five years in prison with a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to three years.

Bartlett made his initial appearance in court on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel and was ordered detained pending a hearing on Monday.

An affidavit in support of the criminal complaint states that the FBI has discovered copies of more than 100 letters. The writer threatens multiple times to "WIPE OUT A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER," and also calls himself a "SEXUAL PREDATOR" multiple times.

The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint also says that on May 12, Bartlett was seen wearing blue latex gloves placing envelopes into a blue U.S. Postal Service collection can in Watertown, and at a post office drop box in Clayton.

The FBI searched the collection can and found 21 letters with the same return address in Syracuse. The letters were addressed to religious institutions and places of worship.

The affidavit says Bartlett was spotted again on Sunday placing what appeared to be a brown paper package into another USPS collection can in Watertown. The recovered letters were addressed to law enforcement agencies and politicians.

The letters to politicians and law enforcement read in part: "EVERY MONTH SINCE NOVEMBER I HAVE KILLED BOTH MALE AND FEMALES," and "IT IS POSSIBLE THAT I AM KILLING INDIVIDUALS WHOSE IDENTITIES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACK (I.E., HOMELESS, RUNAWAYS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS), AND DESTROYING ALL EVIDENCE SO EFFICIENTLY."

These letters also threaten a school bus driver, that he is "PREPARING MY ULTIMATE DEATH RITUAL OF SELF-SACRIFICE," and that "YOUR TIME TO 'CATCH' ME IS NEARLY OUT. I GROW WEARY OF YOUR INABILITY TO CAPTURE ME AND TO INFORM THE PUBLIC OF MY PRESENCE."

A search warrant for the envelopes was issued Tuesday and executed Thursday.

According to the affidavit, the 21 envelopes addressed to politicians were signed by the "Chinese zodiac killer," while 21 other letters that were addressed to religious institutions and places of worship were signed by "Aleister Crowley," someone who is referenced in letters that are signed by the "Chinese zodiac killer."

Aleister Crowley, according to History.com, was an early 20th-century British occultist who celebrated Satan. The website says his ideas were "influential in Satanism" and that his 1913 poem, "A Hymn to Lucifer," describes Satan "as the provider of soul and rebellion to the universe."

A letter addressed to President Joseph R. Biden at the White House says that "I MADE IT *CLEAR THAT I WOULD MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF ANYONE WHO HAS KNOWLEDGE OF ME THAT REFUSES TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC OF MY EXISTENCE," before it threatens a school bus driver.

The case is being investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, New York State Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping.

Separately, in 2010, Bartlett was cleared of all charges in the shooting death of 33-year-old Keith E. Brabant after a Jefferson County grand jury returned a "no bill," which means they found insufficient evidence to support a charge.