Attorney Gets Extension To File Charges In Jeanne Ann Childs' 1993 Murder
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Hennepin County Attorney's Office has been given a 24-hour extension to file charges against a metro hockey dad accused of murder Wednesday in a 25-year-old cold case.
Jerry Westrom, 52, is accused of killing Jeanne Ann Childs in Minneapolis in 1993. Minneapolis police arrested him Monday in Waite Park.
Childs was 35 years old when she was found stabbed to death in her south Minneapolis apartment. Investigators used forensic DNA testing and an online genealogy website to identify Westrom's DNA, which matched DNA left at the crime scene.
WCCO has learned Westrom owned and operated independent businesses in Isanti County for a number of years.
RELATED: Jerry Westrom Arrested In 1993 Cold Case Murder Of Jeanne Ann Childs
Westrom's criminal history shows traffic violations and multiple DWI convictions. He was convicted in 2015 of agreeing to hire a prostitute in Stearns County. The criminal complaint states he admitted to talking to a woman he found in the escorts section of backpage.com and planned to pay her $100 for sex.
Police admit it has taken decades to make an arrest in Childs' murder, and say they never give up.
County attorney Mike Freeman has until noon Thursday to decide on charges in the case.
