CAMBRIDGE, Minn. — An Isanti County businessman will spend at least the next 30 years in prison after being sentenced for first-degree murder in the death of a woman back in 1993.
Jerry Westrom was unemotional as a Hennepin County judge handed down the mandatory life sentence, which according to state statues at the time Jeanie Childs was killed, meant a minimum of 30 years behind bars.
"It seems like you have led a very positive life for the last 29 years," stated Hennepin County District Court Judge Juan Hoyos before handing down Westrom's sentence. "Your wife and family have been here... you clearly have a lot of support. However, you took Jeanie Childs' opportunity of a life. She was not able to be with her family, to provide her love to her family... and she was deprived of receiving that love. You took that away from her 29 years ago, and now the law demands you face our state's most serious consequences."
Westrom lived a quiet life raising a family in the years since police say he stabbed Childs multiple times inside her apartment on Pillsbury Avenue in Minneapolis. The case remained cold until 2018, when investigators used blood-DNA evidence recovered from the scene to make inquiries with a number of commercial genealogy websites, including at least one apparently used by Westrom.
Through the searches, two possible subjects were identified, one being 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.
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.
Before he was sentenced Friday, Childs' mother, niece and sister delivered victim impact statements in court. Her mother, Betty Eakmen, spoke of talking to Jeanie the weekend before her death and urging her to get treatment for a problematic tooth. It was the last time they would ever speak.
"I never thought for one second that was the last time I'd ever talk with her and say goodbye," said Eakmen, holding back tears. "I've waited so many years to have this end, and it's put my life through so much hell. I'll never forget, and will love her the way I always did."
Child's niece Melissa Ann Beaulieu had just turned 9 days before her beloved aunt was murdered. "She made the world a better place... she was brave, silly, loving and kind," Beaulieu recalled, describing Childs' big hugs and protective nature. "On June 13, 1993 my parents sat me down and had to tell me something that would change my life forever... it flipped my world right on its head. From looking at the world through my freshly 9-year-old eyes, with hope and thinking it was a good place out here... the world was suddenly a dark and scary place. I remember the knot in my stomach, crying so hard I couldn't breathe. I remember her laying in her casket, and begging her "please, wake up." The effect something like this creates can be vicious, it can affect you for an entire lifetime. To lose someone you love is a profound experience."
Westrom declined to speak in court. His defense attorney, Steve Meshbesher, expressed condolences to Childs' family, saying she deserved a full life, but stated that Westrom maintains his innocence and will appeal his conviction to the State Supreme Court. Meshbesher told the court that he and Westrom were denied the opportunity to present evidence that could prove someone else committed the murder.
Judge Hoyos ordered Westrom immediately remanded to the state Department of Corrections. He will be given credit for 39 days served, and was ordered to pay just over $3,600 in restitution.
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