On October 27, 2005, Josephine Selvage, an 81-year-old White/Caucasian female, was tragically killed in her Albuquerque, New Mexico, home. A retired school teacher who was living with Alzheimer's disease, she was confronted by an intruder who had slipped into her house late at night through a back door that had been left slightly ajar. The man, later identified as Clifton Bloomfield, was a former movie extra with an extensive and violent criminal history.
Bloomfield had been walking by
when he noticed the unsecured door and decided to enter the residence in search of valuables. He began by looking through a purse he found on the kitchen table, but it contained nothing of value. As he moved through the home, he entered one of the bedrooms where he encountered Josephine. Bloomfield overpowered the elderly woman and strangled her to death with a piece of her own clothing. After the murder, he continued his search of the house but ultimately fled without taking anything.
For several years, the case remained unsolved. The police initially investigated a potential link between Josephine's murder and another killing that had occurred just three days prior, but they incorrectly dismissed the connection. Bloomfield, a serial killer, continued his violent spree, murdering three other people between 2007 and 2008. He was finally apprehended on July 1, 2008, in connection with the death of his last victim.
Following his arrest, DNA evidence conclusively linked Clifton Bloomfield to the murder of Josephine Selvage, as well as the four other homicides. Bloomfield pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to five life terms plus 45 years in prison, bringing a measure of justice to the families of his victims, though the impact of his brutal crimes remains.
