Ep. 8 Wilma Johnson & Early Crimes of Donald Blom

You can listen to episode eight of “Aren’t You the Girl?” podcast here:

Posted is the transcript for the episode for those who would like to read the story instead.

Sources used in this episode are listed at the end of this post.

Katie Poirier is the only confirmed murder under Donald Blom’s criminal history. Investigators tried to get confessions for other cases he may be connected to but he refused to talk every time. 

Donald however connected himself to one case decades before Katie’s case exposed him to Minnesota – the case of Wilma Johnson. 

In this episode of, “Aren’t You the Girl?” I’ll be covering the murder of Wilma “Jeanie” Johnson and the beginning of Donald Blom’s crime spree. 

On May 13th, 1983, a maintenance man discovered the battered, nude body of a woman behind the St. Paul Cathedral. 

Her body had only been there a few hours.

The body was identified to be a 45 year old woman named Wilma Johnson. Wilma was described as a transient and had been staying at the St. Paul YWCA for the past few days. A “street person” the authorities described. 

When found, Wilma was wearing only men’s socks, one black and one gray. Tennis shoes were next to her body and clothing items were found in bushes about 20 feet away. 

Wilma was lying face up next to a lamppost about 100 feet away from the chancery parking lot. 

She had two black eyes and appeared to have been beaten about the head. Police Capt. Don Trooien of the homicide sex crimes unit reported that she had been strangled. 

Detectives had no suspects or leads initially.

Donald Blom contacted the homicide unit several days after her murder claiming he witnessed Wilma get killed. 

Donald told investigators he was at the scene of the slaying but denied killing her. He stated to be sitting on a bench near the Cathedral and witnessed the killing. 

Authorities were suspicious of Donald but had nothing to tie him to the murder and it’s unclear if they knew he was a convicted sex offender at the time. 

Less than a month after Wilma was murdered, Donald kidnapped and sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Stillwater.

Donald Blom lurked the streets in Minnesota for over three decades and committed some of the worst acts our state and community had to witness.

Starting in 1975, Donald began a disturbing criminal career that included the kidnap and rape of women and girls. Modus operandi was changing his name and appearance after each incident.

But let’s bring it back to the beginning. To understand a serial predator – it’s important to understand their background. 

Born Donald Michael Pince in St. Paul 1949. He grew up in St. Paul and was the younger of two boys. 

His father Clarence was a truck driver for a coal company and later a window washer. His mother Deloros was a homemaker – according to his birth certificate. 

Forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland wrote, Blom “went to a reform school because he was a frequent truant and an underage drinker.”

It was later revealed by Donald that he was sexually abused by his father. 

When he was 12 years old his father, after consuming many drinks, fell asleep while smoking and died when the house caught on fire. 

Donald dropped out of high school in 10th grade and was in foster homes between the ages 14-18 years old. 

He had been married several times and had used many names. Sometimes using Franklin which was his mothers birth name. 

He also took the last names of women he married to make tracing him more difficult. 

Donald married his first wife in 1970. They divorced soon after. 

He met 16 year old Kathy in 1972 and they began dating. 

April 4th, 1975:

He assaulted two girls ages 14 and 15 in west St. Paul. He was arrested on two counts of kidnapping and aggravated assault in April of 1975.

Donald was released to his attorney under court order. 

December 23rd, 1975:

Seven months after the attack on the two girls, Donald forced a 14 year old candy striper from West St. Paul into his car as she got off a bus with Christmas presents. 

He drove her to St. Paul, tied up her ankles with string and used her shoe laces to bind her hands behind her back. 

She fought back. 

Later testifying,

“He kept saying, “what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”’

Afterward Donald gagged her and put her in the trunk of his car. She later escaped. 

He initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty but said he didn’t remember attacking the girl. 

After this attack, Donald spent extended time in the state hospital in St. Peter where for the first time, he received treatment for chemical dependency for his sex offenses.

His attorney on that case said that Donald often became intoxicated to the point where he didn’t recall events afterwards. 

Donald told his lawyer that he first started drinking beer in the eighth grade. Saying the alcohol provided psychological relief from problems at home. 

His lawyer later saying,

“He has alcoholic, abusive parents. Their home was isolated from the rest of the neighborhoods. There really wasn’t anything for him to latch onto to nurture and grow.”

Kathy stood by Donald through two convictions for kidnapping and raping girls. He even married Kathy in Miller Hospital on February 26th, 1976.

Kathy later described him as “bipolar manic depressive and an alcoholic” who often hit her, once sending her to the emergency room.

But he could turn on the charm. 

She noted there were always a lot of younger girls coming to their house and they thought he was great, said an FBI report. 

“He had a charm about him… he treated them better than he did their family.”

Kathy said. 

Donald told authorities “he always had a fear of getting old, which might explain his kidnapping, raping and sexual misconduct with younger women.”

Later that year in August, Donald is convicted first degree rape for December 1975 attack.

He was sentenced to 40 years but was released after only serving four years in August of 1979.

In September moved into a halfway house until April, 1980. 

In February of 1981, Donald appeared before the state review board. Records say he “appears capable of making an acceptable adjustment to society and does not appear a danger to himself or others… Psychological and psychiatric evaluation indicates that he appears to be making an acceptable adjustment to society.”

Donald is then released back into society. 

Seven months later on October 11th, 1981, Donald fondled two babysitters, ages 12 and 13, at his home in Rosemount. 

He was arrested for third degree criminal sexual assault, released three days later, but is arrested the next day for violating terms of probation for the 1975 aggravated assault conviction. 

Again, he is soon released. 

September 19th, 1982:

Donald assaults a 15 year old girl after meeting her and a friend at a gas station. 

Now May of 1983 is a significant part of Donald Blom’s life. 

He divorced Kathy this month. 

May 13th 1983:

Wilma Johnson is found dead strangled to death. 

Donald claimed to have witnessed the attack from sitting on a park bench.

Now that we know how a known victim (Katie Poirier) of Donald’s was killed 16 years later – we know that strangulation was part of his M.O.

But in 1983, police didn’t find him a credible witness.

Police had no other leads or suspects in Wilma’s murder and they never interviewed Donald Blom further.

Police spokesperson Michael Jordan said they do not have enough information to believe or discount Blom’s claims but Jordan said it would have been strange for someone to be out there at night in a driving rain.  

Jordan said in 1999, they have not talked to Blom about Wilma’s murder, even after Katie’s abduction and murder, that they have not talked to Blom and probably never will. 

Wilma’s case remains unsolved and is technically still open today but has not been actively investigated in decades. 

Blom was never really considered a suspect in her murder by police. 

Donald to his dying day never connected himself to any victim not even Katie except for one:

Wilma Johnson. 

What did Donald see happen to Wilma?

If he wasn’t there – why did he connect himself to her case?

Three days later another similar murder occurs. 

On May 16, 28-year-old Susan Petersen was last seen in the University Avenue neighborhood. The next day, she was strangled and sexually assaulted in an alley near Mississippi River Boulevard in Highland Park. 

It’s believed she was killed elsewhere and dumped there. 

Susan had been beaten about her face. Some of the bruising was caused earlier in the month by a boyfriend who was later charged with simple assault. 

She was fully clothed but the clothes were in disarray. 

Police at the time weren’t sure if there were any connections between Wilma and Susan’s case.

Both being unsolved today makes it hard to say. 

July 2nd, 1983: Stillwater attack

Donald was hitchhiking on Highway 95 north of Stillwater when two teenage girls drove up and offered him a ride. He told the girls he was headed to a party. But within minutes, he pulled out a 10 to 12 inch knife and demanded money. 

The girls thought it was a joke. 

Wielding the knife, he ordered the girls to the floor of the car. At one point he put one girl in the trunk and drove off to a wooded area. 

He marched the girls into the woods where he tied them up with shoelaces and a towel. He blindfolded one girl and stuffed a sock in her mouth to keep her quiet, cutting her tongue. 

Donald threatened, choked and assaulted the girls for nearly an hour while smoking cigarettes and drinking from a bottle of cheap strawberry wine. 

He would like to strangle the victim to unconsciousness then revive them back to life then repeat the cycle over and over again. 

The girls described his mood going back and forth and they were terrified for their lives. 

The assault ended when a sheriff deputy happened by, spotted the deserted car and ran a check on the plates. 

Donald fled and the girls managed to free themselves. 

Two months later, one of the victims was at a St. Paul Target shopping with her mother and spotted their attacker. 

She recognized him instantly even though he had cut his hair and dyed it red. 

She screamed, 

“You!”

Which caused Donald to walk away quickly from the store and a security guard got his license plate number. 

Days later, both girls picked his photo out of a line up. 

They told investigators Donald appeared to be “high and on some sort of drugs” and he reminded them of Charles Manson.

“You hear of all these stories stories of guys raping girls then killing them and all this, so I was just really scared of what was going to happen.”

Said one of the girls. 

“I was fighting with all of my strength.”

It was said Blom appeared to lack emotion completely at this time. 

Blom served four years for this attack.

From 1983 to 1989 Donald was moved around different prisons and hospitals. 

March 14th, 1989:

He was released from lino lakes after serving two – thirds of his term. 

Donald is out on supervised release and sent to a halfway house in Minneapolis where he stays for two months. 

September 6th, 1990:

Supervised release status revoked; returns to prison after being

found to have “unauthorized contact” with minors in Hennepin County. 

This theme continues on because Donald refused to complete sex offender programs. 

From March 1989 to final discharge he was in and out of supervised custody. 

Donald’s final release from prison was on March 14th, 1992.

In 1992, Gary Fischler conducted the 1992 evaluation for Blom for the Lino Lakes prison. In the evaluation, he wrote that Blom’s “episodes may include excessive chemical use and sexual deviancy” and may be followed by a period of guilt and shame. 

However, the remorse does not exhibit further episodes.”

Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. 

March 14th, 1992:

Donald is released back into society for the final time in his life. 

Was he responsible for a series of sexual assaults in suburban parks? How did he stay under law enforcement radar and keep his criminal history a secret from society for 7 years until abducting Katie Poirier in 1999?

Please come back for episode 9 and the final segment diving into the crimes of Donald Blom. 

Rest in Peace to Wilma Johnson and Susan Petersen. 

Thank you for listening. Stay safe, everyone. 

Sources:

• St. Cloud Times and Star Tribune.
• Murderpedia
• Crime Library: A Repeat Offender Sex Offender Finally Caught by Katherine Ramsland