MINNEAPOLIS — A 52-year-old central Minnesota man is now charged with second degree murder in the brutal death of a Minneapolis woman more than a quarter century ago.
The criminal complaint filed against 52-year-old Jerry Arnold Westrom of Isanti details how investigators used DNA technology and commercial genealogy websites to identify him as the alleged killer of Jeanne Ann Childs in June of 1993.
Childs, who investigators say worked as a prostitute, was found dead in her Pillsbury Avenue apartment after a tenant complained that there was water running into his unit. Apartment staff went into the upstairs apartment, saw a significant amount of blood and then located Childs' body inside a running shower. She had been stabbed more than two dozen times, some of the wounds coming after she was already dead.
Detectives collected a number of items covered in blood, but were unable to develop solid leads on a suspect at the time.
In 2018 cold case investigators used the blood-DNA evidence to make inquiries with a number of commercial genealogy websites, including at least one apparently used by the defendant. Through the searches two possible subjects were identified, one being Jerry Westrom. Investigators found he had lived in the Twin Cities from April of 1991 to December of 1993, and had a number of contacts with law enforcement relating to prostitution offenses.
During a press conference Thursday afternoon Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told reporters that "we all learned a lot from the Golden State Killer case," where the suspect was identified through a genealogy website. Investigators decided they would try the same technique here, and the result was the identification of Westrom as a suspect.
Authorities began surveillance on Westrom in January of 2019 with the intent of recovering a DNA sample without him knowing. The defendant was followed to a hockey game, where he was seen wiping his mouth with a napkin before he threw it in the garbage. Detectives recovered the napkin, and tests confirmed the DNA on it was consistent with samples recovered from the murder scene.
Westrom was taken into custody and a more complete DNA sample was taken. That sample was matched with a number of samples taken from Childs' apartment, including DNA left on a washcloth, a sperm cell left on a comforter, and others. Prosecutors say more than 99 percent of the population can be excluded as being suspects in Childs' death.
When questioned Westrom denied being at the apartment complex, denied knowing Jeanne Childs or having sex with her, or having sex with anyone in Minneapolis in 1993. He told detectives he had no idea why his DNA would be present at the scene.
Westrom's father told KARE 11 the family has been blindsided by the news. He said he has not spoken with his son since the arrest.
"Not good news," he said. "I hope it gets straightened out."
Westrom's father said his son has been married for more than 20 years but lived in Minneapolis in the early nineties.
In Isanti, Westrom was a well-known business owner who used to run "Westrom's Corner," a gas station just north of town. Public records show Westrom was previously convicted of engaging in prostitution in St. Cloud back in 2016.
A relative of Childs did not wish to make a public comment but said this brings the family one step closer to peace — after spending 26 years in agony over the unsolved crime.
If found guilty of second degree murder Jerry Westrom could be sentenced to 40 years in prison. He is being held on $1 million bond, and is due to appear in court Friday.