‘Chinese Zodiac Killer’ who claimed to eat his victims sentenced to 16 months in prison
By Carl Samson
March 30, 2023
The LaFargeville, New York, man who identified himself as the “Chinese Zodiac Killer” in dozens of threatening letters sent to multiple states in the Northeast has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Jesse Bartlett, 46, delivered the disturbing letters between April 2021 and May 2022 to various locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Private businesses, houses of worship, media outlets and government offices — including the White House — received his messages.
In his letters, Bartlett claimed to murder his supposed victims and eat their flesh. He also threatened to kill more, including an unnamed bus driver.
Aside from calling himself the “Chinese Zodiac Killer” — presumably mimicking the moniker of the 1960s California murderer, who was actually proven to have killed his victims — Bartlett signed some of his letters as “Aleister Crowley,” apparently referencing the late British occultist. Investigators determined during a home search that he had an interest in black magic.
Bartlett pled guilty last December to a charge of mailing threatening letters. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Just last week, Bartlett was also indicted on third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession. The charges are linked to five rifles, two shotguns and a high-capacity magazine that were found in his home during a police search.
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