Josephine Valmont held the Witchblade in the late 1800s. Kenneth Irons encountered Josephine at a party in 1898 and tried to seduce her in an attempt to take the artifact from her. When she rebuffed his advances, Kenneth hounded her until she was forced to flee Europe, and sent crew after crew of thieves and assassins to try to capture or kill her. After fighting valiantly and defeating all her attackers, Josephine passed away from wounds she sustained in battle.
Josephine’s body was found by her brother and Salifah Zayid, both of whom had been sent under false pretenses to retrieve the Witchblade. The Witchblade chose Salifah as its next bearer, and Josephine was buried in the Congo by her brother.
Her spirit resides in the Witchblade, and Josephine occassionally appears to present-day bearer Sara Pezzini when she needs guidance.