London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Man who served 16 years for murder his brother confessed to awarded $7,500,000

Man who served 16 years for murder his brother confessed to awarded $7,500,000

A man who spent 15 years in prison for a rape and murder his brother confessed to will be given $7.5 million by the county where he was wrongfully arrested and convicted.

Floyd Bledsoe, 43, was finally freed in 2015 after sibling Tom confessed to the brutal killing of 14-year-old Camille Arfmann, who was shot four times in November 1999, in a suicide note.

He was 23 when he was convicted of first-degree murder in 2000, despite his brother having turned himself in and led detectives to the teenager’s body under a pile of trash in Oskaloosa, Kansas.

But in a cruel twist, he later recanted and testified against his brother, telling jurors he had tried to blackmail him into taking the fall.

Floyd, who was strapped into a bullet-proof vest before being driven to court during his trial, was sentenced to life in prison.

According to a lawsuit he filed in 2016, Jefferson County authorities persuaded Tom Bledsoe to recant his confession and ‘framed’ him by hiding evidence of his innocence.

His brother confessed to the crime


In 2015, DNA testing revealed Tom was the likely source of sperm found in the victim. He died by suicide that year after writing a note again confessing to killing Camille.

In one of three notes he left behind, he admitted ‘I had sex with her, and killed her’, Jefferson County sheriff’s Captain of Detectives Kirk Vernon testified that year.

He wrote in a second that ‘Floyd is innocent’ and gave details of the killing that investigators said only the killer could have known in a third.

The charges against Floyd were dismissed and he was freed from prison that year.

It means Camille’s death is officially unsolved he could be tried again, but lawyers said it was highly unlikely given his brother’s confessions.

Floyd speaking to reporters


One of Bledsoe’s attorneys, Russell Ainsworth of Loevy & Loevy in Chicago, said Jefferson County was facing up to $40 million in liability if the case went to trial.

Jefferson County Commissioner Richard Malm said the county’s annual budget is about $20 million and the commission would have had to propose a bond if Bledsoe had not agreed to have the payment spread over 10 years.

In 2019, the state agreed to pay Bledsoe $1.03 million under a mistaken conviction law.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
×