Donald Blom

Donald Albin Blom (born Donald Albin Pince, February 5, 1949 – January 10, 2023) was an American man convicted of the murder of Katie Poirier in 1999. A registered sex offender involved in five cases of kidnapping and sexual assault prior to Poirier's murder, he was suspected of being a serial killer by case investigators. Before that he spent about 4 years at medium-security prison MCF-Faribault after having been transferred there from maximum-security facility SCI Greene in Pennsylvania.

Early life Donald Blom's father abused him from the time Blom was very young until he was around 13 years old. By the time he reached adolescence, Blom was a heavy drinker and exhibited behavioral problems. In the 10th grade, he went to a reform school, where he often skipped classes. The video was sent to imaging specialists at NASA who were able to enhance the image so more details of the suspect could be seen. The police estimated that the abductor was 5'10" and weighed around 170 pounds, had long light-colored hair and appeared to be around 25 years old.

Witnesses reported that they had seen a black pick-up truck circling the area around the convenience store that evening. One of the witnesses gave a partial license plate number (three numbers and a letter).

At the time of his arrest, investigators were looking at similar crimes, including the murder of 19-year-old Wisconsin student Holly Spangler. In 1993, Spangler's decomposed body was found in the woods of a Bloomington, Minnesota, park. Blom was living in the area under the name "Donald Pince," was a registered sex offender and was one of the top suspects in the case. The Discovery Channel reported the case via The New Detectives series episode "Fatal Abductions". In 2010, the case was featured in the "Out of the Ashes" episode of the Investigation Discovery series Extreme Forensics. In 2013, a second Investigation Discovery series On the Case with Paula Zahn aired the "Tip 1960" episode about the crime. In 2016, a third Investigation Discovery series See No Evil episode titled "Snatched on Camera" reported on Poirier's murder.