Man in cold case death of Minneapolis woman faces new first-degree charge
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A grand jury has issued a first degree murder charge against an Isanti man already named in a 1993 stabbing death of a Minneapolis woman, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence links 54-year-old Jerry Westrom to the scene of the crime. They added a footprint inked in the blood of the victim, Jeanne Ann Childs, matches Westrom.
Defense attorney Steve Meshbesher has said Westrom did not kill Childs. And he's said other men were in Child's apartment and the DNA and footprint evidence linked to his client are not reliable.
Westrom has not entered a plea, but Meshbesher said "we're going to fight this."
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Like other criminal cases, Westrom's has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, he was charged with second degree murder in Childs’ death.
Judge Tamara Garcia set Westrom's bond on Tuesday at $2 million. Meshbesher argued that it should remain at $500,000, set in the previous murder charge, because "there is no more money, and it would be punitive in nature."
Another hearing has been scheduled for late July.
