Rare clue at Minneapolis crime scene points to a barefoot killer
"In Minnesota here, people are not committing crimes a lot of times with the socks and shoes off," said a forensic scientist about footprints left in the victim's blood.
On June 13, 1993, a grisly scene unfolded in a Minneapolis apartment complex when police arrived to investigate the murder of 35-year-old Jeanie Childs. Her body was found partially under her bed, and her bedroom was in disarray with blood spatter across the walls and floor. Childs had been stabbed more than 60 times. Among the rare clues discovered was a pair of bloody, bare footprints in the bedroom, which drew the attention of forensic scientist Bart Epstein.
Epstein noted that bare feet with blood on them were uncommon at crime scenes, as the person would need to have stepped in the victim's wet blood after committing the murder. The footprints were documented and photographed, as they could both help identify the killer and clear other suspects. Investigators compared the footprints to multiple individuals, including Arthur Gray, who lived with Childs at the time of her murder.
However, Gray's alibi of being out of town was solid, and forensic scientists found his footprints did not match those at the crime scene. The case remained unsolved for years until 2015, when forensic scientist Andrea Feia discovered an unknown DNA profile on various items at the crime scene, including a comforter, towel, washcloth, T-shirt, and bathroom sink.
Forensic genealogists traced the unknown DNA to potentially two brothers in Minnesota, one of whom was businessman and hockey dad Jerry Westrom. In January 2019, investigators obtained items belonging to Westrom, including a napkin and food container from a college hockey game, which matched the crime scene DNA. Westrom was arrested in February 2019.
During his police interview, Westrom denied being at the apartment, but authorities collected his footprints for comparison. Forensic expert Mark Ulrick examined the footprints, focusing on the unique friction ridge skin found on feet and soles. Westrom's defense team hired a forensic scientist to verify Ulrick's findings, leading to the eventual conviction of Westrom for the murder of Jeanie Childs.
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