Minnesota Man Found Guilty in 1993 Murder

A Hennepin County jury has reached a guilty verdict in a "cold case" murder trial.

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54-year-old Jerry Westrom was found guilty of first and second-degree murder for the 1993 slaying of a young woman working as a prostitute. He was finally charged with the crime in 2019 after investigators used a napkin that he discarded at a hockey game to obtain a DNA sample that linked him to the previously unsolved murder.

The criminal complaint indicates Westrom was initially identified as a suspect when investigators submitted DNA samples to a genealogy website and found that he was listed as one of two possible matches. They also learned the businessman from Isanti was living in the Twin Cities when a murder occurred and had a record of law enforcement contacts related to prostitution. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.