Westrom previously owned several businesses in the Cambridge community, including Sears, the Westrom’s Corner gas station at the intersection of South Main Street and Highway 65 (currently the BP Amoco gas station/Dickey’s Barbecue Pit) and the Sinclair gas station (current vacant building) along Highway 95 in Cambridge.
On June 13, 1993, property management for an apartment building in the 3100 block of Pillsbury Avenue South, Minneapolis, was notified by a tenant that water was coming into her apartment. Property management responded to the apartment and found water in the hallway coming from an apartment rented by a man dating Childs.
Staff initially entered the apartment and observed water on the floor and a significant amount of blood. Supervisors were called to the apartment, who entered and found the shower to be running and observed Childs’ deceased body on the floor. Law enforcement officers were called to the scene and an investigation commenced.
Officers learned the man who had been dating Childs had been out of state at this time. The investigation further revealed that Childs was an active prostitute and would use the apartment for meetings with customers.
A number of stab wounds were apparent to Childs’ body, and she was brought to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. The evaluation located superficial cuts and stab wounds to her abdomen, neck, chest, back, arms, hands and buttocks. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined her death to be a result of homicide caused by multiple sharp force trauma to the chest and further opined that a number of wounds were inflicted postmortem.
Within the apartment, blood was observed to be covering Childs, the bed and bedding, and a substantial portion of the adjoining bathroom. A number of items were collected from the apartment that would be later tested for the presence of DNA: the comforter from the bed, a towel and a washcloth in the bathroom, a red T-shirt and a scraping of a blood stain from the sink.
In 2018, investigators consulted with a genealogist who worked with law enforcement on another cold case where genealogy assisted with the development of a suspect. A DNA sample that was recovered from the scene of Childs’ death and found to be of unknown origin was entered into available commercial genealogy websites. Information derived from this search coupled with additional genealogical research led to two possible suspects, one being Westrom.
Officers learned Westrom had lived in the Twin Cities area from April 9, 1991, to Dec. 31, 1993. Additionally, records checks showed contacts with law enforcement related to prostitution, including a conviction for solicitation in February 2016.
In January 2019, officers began to watch Westrom to surreptitiously obtain a DNA sample. Investigators tracked Westrom to a hockey game where he was observed ordering food from the concession area. Investigators observed Westrom wiping his mouth with a napkin that he then placed in a cardboard food container before disposing of both in a trash can.
Investigators recovered the napkin and submitted it to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis. The BCA was able to determine that the napkin contained a mixture of DNA, however the major male profile observed was consistent with DNA samples recovered from the crime scene.
Officers subsequently located Westrom and took him into custody. Investigators collected a known DNA sample from Westrom and submitted that to the BCA.
The analysis revealed a mixture of two or more individuals’ DNA was on the washcloth recovered from the apartment. Neither Childs nor Westrom could be excluded from contributing to the mixture; however, 99.993 percent of the general population can be excluded as contributors.
Westrom’s DNA was found to be a match to samples recovered from the bed’s comforter and from the towel in the bathroom. A mixture of two or more individuals’ DNA was recovered in another sample collected from the comforter. Westrom cannot be excluded from being a contributor to the sample, yet 99.999995 percent of the population can be.
Further DNA testing is pending at the BCA and will be compared to evidence recovered from the scene.
Investigators met with Westrom, who agreed to speak with them after having been read his rights. Westrom denied having been at the apartment complex, denied having been in the apartment, denied recognizing Childs and denied having had sex with any women in Minneapolis in 1993. When confronted with the DNA evidence available to investigators at the time of arrest, Westrom indicated he had no knowledge as to why his DNA would be present at the scene.
Former Isanti County businessman charged with second-degree murder from 1993 case
