afterword by Patrick H. Moore
In a true crime story that elevates family dysfunction to dizzying and previously unscaled heights, 25-year-old twin sons, Caleb and Joshua Bledsoe, have demonstrated their extreme dislike (hatred) for their father, William Bledsoe, by attempting to burn him up inside his house. Now that in itself would probably not constitute “dizzying and previously unscaled heights”, but what gives this story extra juice is the fact the twins’ father not only refuses to criticize his boys and their attempted murder, but actually admits that he probably had it coming.
The Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press reports:
A father who survived an alleged murder attempt by his own two sons has refused to criticize them, saying: ‘My boys are my boys and I’ll never abandon them and not support them.’
William Bledsoe, 70, of Ellensburg, Washington, admits the accusations against his twin sons, 25-year-old Caleb and Joshua. ‘Yes, I am the man they tried to kill,’ Bledsoe told ABCNews.com.
The brothers share a home and a business with their father. They are accused of trying to kill him in a house fire, telling arresting officers it was because they find him difficult to live with and work for.
William Bledsoe appears to agree with his sons’ analysis of their motivation:
‘I’m probably not the easiest guy to live with… I’m not the easiest guy to work with,’ he said in an interview with ABC affiliate KOMO News.
‘I want you to remember, I am their dad, I am not their victim.’
Caleb and Joshua made an initial appearance in Kittitas County Superior Court on Tuesday. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree; first degree arson; possession and use of an incendiary device; and the use of explosive without a license. They are being held on $1 million bail.
Here’s what happened:
According to the Daily Record, firefighters arrived at their house to put out a blaze at 1:40 am on Monday, Sept. 16th. They treated Caleb and Joshua’s father for smoke inhalation. Even though, according to Deputy Prosecutor Chris Herion, Joshua tried to hold the bedroom door shut thus imprisoning William, the wily Bledsoe managed to get out of the room and off the property before the authorities arrived. The firefighting crew found a home-made explosive – a propane canister wrapped with multiple shotgun shells – that had been planted at the crime scene.
The probable cause statement says the brothers told police they set fires in the home with the idea the smoke would kill their father. Their rationale for attempting to “take the old man out” was simple. He is very difficult to live with and work for. The old man clearly agrees with them.
This strange threesome worked together at Bledsoe & Sons Gutters and Sheet Metal in Ellensburg. The twins are scheduled to be arraigned on September 30.
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Reading this, you get the impression that William Bledsoe not only will not condemn his sons for attempting to kill him in rather grisly fashion; you get the impression that he will probably finance their legal defense as well, which, god knows, they are going to need considering the seriousness of their crimes. In addition, William no doubt rues the fact that if they are convicted and sentenced to what could be a very long stretch in stir (and I don’t see how they could not be), he’s going to have to run the business without them.
Updated:
In December of last year, Caleb and Joshua Bledsop were sentenced to nine years in Washington state prison.
Although they were initially charged with first-degree attempted murder, arson and possession of improvised explosive devices, they were allowed, perhaps at their father’s urging, to be allowed to plead guilty to second-degree domestic violence attempted murder. (That particular charge is quite a mouthful and appears to combine serious domestic violence with attempted murder).
God only knows how (and if) William Bledsoe will continue to keep the doors of his business open during his boys rather lengthy absence — an absence which may be far longer than a mere nine years given the fact they may not ever again be willing to work for him (though I suspect he would take them back in a heartbeat).