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Westrom appeared in court on Friday for a brief hearing. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, he struggled to keep his cool and confirm his name and address. More than two dozen friends and family members of Westrom, including his wife and children, watched from the podium.
Prosecutors allege that Westrom's DNA was found in evidence collected at the scene of the crime. According to the criminal complaint, the investigators sent these samples to a genealogy website in 2018, which helped them identify Westrom as a suspect. Authorities claim that the DNA of the crime scene also matches samples taken from a briefcase that Westrom threw at a hockey game earlier this year and to a sample taken from Westrom after his arrest. .
But in court, defense attorney Steven Meshbesher immediately raised doubts about the evidence. He noted that, according to the criminal complaint, Childs had worked as a prostitute and that the DNA collected at the scene of the crime came from sperm.
"The sperm seems to match, but not the blood," said Meshbesher. "What we have is not a criminal record, not a connection with the blood, nor with the weapon – because they have not found it."
In the complaint, prosecutors allege that Westrom's DNA is present in two sperm samples taken in a quilt and a towel in the apartment. They also claim that he was present in two other samples of "non-sperm cell fraction" taken from the towel and the quilt.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Meshbesher also said that the Hennepin County Attorney's Office admitted in his complaint that the case was still under investigation. .
"They do not know what the facts are – you do not charge a case until you know what the facts are – you have to investigate first," said Meshbesher.
After being informed of his rights, Westrom "denied having been in the building, denied being in the apartment, denied having recognized" Childs, according to the complaint. Meshbesher challenged this account on Friday.
Meshbesher said that Westrom intended to plead not guilty. Judge Martha Anne Holton Dimick set the bond at $ 500,000, with conditions. The next Westrom hearing will take place on March 13th.
News from Minnesota Public Radio can be heard at Duluth at 100.5 FM or online at MPRNews.org.
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