MN Man Convicted in Cold Case Murder Sentenced

Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Minnesota man who was convicted for fatally stabbing a woman in 1993 was sentenced to life in prison Friday. 

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A Hennepin County jury found 56-year-old Jerry Westrom guilty of first and second-degree murder for the 1993 slaying of Jeanie Ann Childs in August. The Isanti business man was finally charged with the crime in 2019 after investigators used a napkin that he discarded at a hockey game to obtain a DNA sample that linked him to the previously unsolved murder.

The criminal complaint indicates Westrom was initially identified as a suspect when investigators submitted DNA samples to a genealogy website and found that he was listed as one of two possible matches. They also learned Westrom was living in the Twin Cities when a murder occurred and had a record of law enforcement contacts related to prostitution.