Albert Jay Clozza was born on September 7, 1960, in the United States. At the time of the crime, he was employed as a maintenance worker at the Derby Run Trailer Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Public records provide limited information about his early life, upbringing, education, or prior criminal history. His role at the trailer park placed him in close proximity to residents, including the Bolton family.

On the evening of January 13, 1983, 13-year-old Patricia Beth "Patty" Bolton left her family's residence in the Derby Run Trailer Park to visit a bookmobile nearby. When she did not return home, her father initiated a search and reported her missing to the police. The following day, a large-scale search involving approximately 150 individuals, many of whom were military personnel, was conducted. During the search, items belonging to Patricia, including her clothing and books, were discovered in a field near the trailer park. Her body was later found in a wooded area, unclothed except for one sock, with severe facial injuries and signs of sexual assault.

Evidence collected at the scene, including a notebook with Clozza's name and an empty cigarette pack, linked him to the crime. Additionally, a convenience store clerk reported seeing Clozza the night before with swollen hands and blood on his face and clothes. Upon arrest on January 14, 1983, Clozza confessed to abducting Patricia as she walked home, dragging her into a nearby field where he raped, sodomized, and assaulted her, leading to her death from inhaling her own blood due to facial injuries.

Clozza was indicted on multiple charges, including capital murder, abduction with intent to defile, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, and sexual penetration with an inanimate object. On November 3, 1983, he was found guilty on all counts. The jury recommended the death penalty for the capital murder charge, and on November 22, 1983, the judge formally sentenced Clozza to death by electrocution. He also received additional sentences totaling life imprisonment plus 20 years for the other offenses. 

After exhausting all appeals, including those to the Virginia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, Clozza was executed on July 24, 1991, at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. He was the first person executed at this facility following the relocation of Virginia's execution chamber. Clozza declined to make a final statement before his execution.