ALBANY, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – The Jefferson County man who claimed to be the “Chinese Zodiac Killer” has been sentenced, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Albany FBI Field Office Special Agent Janeen DiGuiseppi confirmed that Jesse Bartlett, age 46, of LaFargeville has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after he was accused of mailing threatening letters.

The District Attorney’s Office said that from April 2021 to May 2022, Bartlett, who used the nickname “Chinese Zodiac Killer,” sent threatening letters to media outlets, houses of worship, and various other businesses and government agencies.

These letters were mailed to locations throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

Bartlett wrote in letters that he killed people, ate their flesh, and intended to kill more, the federal investigation revealed.

His sentencing follows a nine-month investigation. Bartlett was taken into custody in late May 2022 after he made an initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel on May 19, 2022.

Bartlett pled guilty to the crime in December 2022. District Judge Brenda Sannes also imposed a 3-year term of supervised release once Bartlett completes his sentence.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force with assistance from the New Yor State Police and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping.