Killer of Katie Poirier, Donald Blom Dies In Minnesota Prison!

Killer of Katie Poirier, Donald Blom Dies In Minnesota Prison!

Donald Blom, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of release for the 1999 murder of convenience store clerk Katie Poirier in a case that rocked Minnesota, passed away on Wednesday, according to the Department of Corrections.

According to department spokesperson Aaron Swanum, Donald Blom, 73, passed away on Tuesday in the state’s maximum security prison at Oak Park Heights from “expected natural causes due to sickness.”

Donald Blom was transferred to a Pennsylvania jail for his safety by corrections officers not long after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2000. Later, he was sentenced to time in a medium-security facility in Faribault and Oak Park Heights.

Recent post:

• Legendary Rock Guitarist Jeff Beck Dies Aged 78
• Blake Hounshell On Politics Editor At The Times Dies At 44

Poirier, 19, of Barnum, was working alone at DJ’s Expressway Conoco on Interstate 35 in Moose Lake when the Richfield man allegedly abducted her. A terrifying security tape documenting the kidnapping was routinely aired on Minnesota TV stations.

On his vacation property near Moose Lake, Donald Blom, a convicted sex offender, admitted to murdering her and burning her body.

Donald Blom, killer of Katie Poirier, dies in Minn. prison (from @AP) https://t.co/j3ryeYd9qI

— Steve Karnowski (@skarnowski) January 11, 2023

Authorities discovered burnt bone bits and a tooth in his fire pit, and they concluded the objects belonged to Poirier.

He insisted that the confession he gave authorities was compelled in his trial evidence and subsequent appeals. His confession was voluntary, and the Minnesota Supreme Court found that he had deliberately renounced any right to have it suppressed.

Because of the event, the Minnesota Legislature passed several measures tightening the state’s sex offender regulations.