HARTFORD -- A murder in Hartford is getting national attention. Jessie Blodgett's story will be on NBC's "Dateline" Friday night. It's not just about heartbreak, it's also about hope.
For Buck Blodgett, talking about Jessie's legacy is therapy. But when Dateline initially called to tell Jessie's story, his first thought was 'no.'
"I watched 30 Dateline's before saying yes to them," said Blodgett.
His daughter Jessie was strangled in their Hartford home in July of 2013. Co-workers convinced Buck to change his mind, but he was still worried about one thing.
"I said; 'yeah but I don't want to put Dan's family on TV, nationwide,' I didn't want that."
Dan Bartelt is the man who murdered Buck's 19-year old daughter, a talented musician with a big heart. Buck has a tattoo on his arm with Jessie's love for butterflies and music.
He has forgiven his daughter's killer and has deep sympathy for Bartelt's parents. It has helped him with the healing process. Now Buck is focused on Jessie's legacy. He launched the Love is Greater than Hate Project to stop male violence on women.
"It's s a mountain to climb," said Blodgett. "Every mountain can be climbed, culture does change and the world does change."
The Dateline story helps Buck start that change nationwide by talking about Jessie.
"We've already made a huge impact in our little corner of the world. We are hoping to make a bigger one in a larger piece of the world. We will see what happens," said Blodgett.
Blodgett has timed the launch of a new website for the Love Is Greater Than Hate project with Friday's Dateline story. It is Ligth.org. Buck also wrote a book about Jessie. He hopes it will be published this year. //jrn.com//