07x30 - Tooth or Consequences

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Narrator: a security camera

Captured images of a 19-year-old

Girl as she was abducted from a

Convenience store.

Forensic scientists needed to

Find some way to improve the

Images for possible leads.

And a scanning electron

Microscope eventually identified

The trail of the missing girl.

Moose lake, minnesota -- one of

The many reasons why the state

Is known as the land of 10,000

Lakes.

This small town outside of

Duluth was home to 19-year-old

Katie poirier.

She was bubbly.

She was always bouncing around.

She was always lively and very

Active in everything.

Narrator: katie's interests

Included her family, several

Sports, and her pet dogs.

She wanted to be either a

Police officer or a game warden.

She was always interested in

Animals.

Narrator: after graduating

From high school in 1998, katie

Studied criminal justice at a

Nearby community college and

Also became engaged to her

Boyfriend, mark.

Katie worked as a clerk at this

Moose lake convenience store, a

Job her mother didn't want her

To take.

I'd ask her about what type

Of deviants that would come in

There.

And she'd just say, "oh, mom,

Don't worry."

And you know, that's how she

Was -- very trusting, trusting

Person.

Narrator: one night around

Midnight when katie was working

The night shift alone, a

Customer called police to say

That the store was open but

There were no employees around.

Are you talking about the

Conoco station there?

Narrator: police went to

Investigate.

There were no signs of v*olence

And no money was missing from

The cash register or the safe.

And katie's car keys were still

There.

On the counter were notes with

Money from customers who had

Purchased items some time after

Katie left the store.

Police wondered whether katie

Might have left the store with a

Friend.

Was there anybody close to

Her in her family that may have

Come and taken her, either as a

Prank or for some other purpose?

I never thought that she left

On her own.

Her car was still there.

And she would have never done

That.

She would have never left on her

Own without calling her

Supervisor or something and

Locking the place up, at least.

Narrator: the store had four

Security cameras focused on

Various areas.

At 11:38 p.m., The security

Cameras revealed a caucasian man

Forcing katie out of the front

Door into the parking lot.

You could actually see his

Hands up near her throat.

You could see her arms clearly

Bent toward her throat.

And he had her from behind.

Narrator: the pictures were

Grainy and showed few details of

The abductor.

There were no security cameras

Outside the store to photograph

The getaway vehicle.

These things happen on tv.

These don't happen for real.

It just was so hard to believe.

Narrator: the store was

Located near a major highway,

Which meant the kidnapper could

Have left the area at high

Speed.

A search of nearby streets and

Parks in moose lake was

Fruitless.

A lot of people here in the

County participated in the

Search for her.

There were hundreds and

Thousands of people that were

Involved and really took it to

Heart and were very concerned

About trying to find katie.

Narrator: neighbors near the

Store told police they saw a

Black pickup truck circling the

Area before katie's abduction.

And an employee at the sandwich

Shop next to the convenience

Store told police she had seen

The same black pickup truck in

The parking lot about three

Hours before katie vanished.

She said the driver was glaring

Inappropriately as female

Customers left the store.

On a hunch, the employee wrote

Down what she could remember of

The license plate.

She said it was a minnesota

License plate and that the

First three digits were 5-5-7.

She also recalled that the last

Letter on the plate was a "y".

Police hoped that if they found

This black pickup truck, they

Would also find katie poirier.

Narrator: minnesota national

Guard helicopters searched the

Area for 19-year-old

Katie poirier.

On the ground, dozens of

Community volunteers joined

Police in the search.

But with each passing day and no

Word from the kidnapper, hope

Started to fade that katie would

Be found alive.

I didn't want to think of

That.

My daughter wasn't gonna be that

Statistic.

Narrator: police searched

Their database for black pickup

Trucks registered in the state

Of minnesota with a license

Plate beginning with 5-5-7 and

Ending with the letter "y".

Surprisingly there were hundreds

Of vehicles matching that

Description.

We believed that we had an

Experienced sexual predator on

Our hands.

This person that came in and

Took katie was not afraid of the

Video camera.

Narrator: surveillance video

Captured images of the man who

Abducted katie from the

Convenience store.

The quality of the pictures was

Poor, and the images too

Distorted to clearly identify

The kidnapper.

To improve the pictures, police

Sent the tapes to nasa, which

Has many years of experience

Trying to improve pictures sent

From space.

Solar physicist

Dr. David hathaway created a

Process to enhance video images

Called visar.

It stabilizes the video so

That you can add images

Together.

And in doing so, you get rid of

A lot of the noise that you see

When you look at a still frame.

Narrator: dr. Hathaway says a

Video picture is really two

Different fields that create one

Picture.

These two fields change so

Rapidly, the human eye can't

Discern it.

Dr. Hathaway combined the even

And odd frames so that both

Could be viewed at the same

Time, creating twice the number

Of lines of resolution.

There are a number of

Individual frames, pairs of

Fields, that we can add together

As well.

Narrator: in one of those

Freeze-frame images,

Dr. Hathaway was able to isolate

The kidnapper.

When he removed some of the

Grain in the picture, he could

See that the man had short

Blond or gray hair, was

Approximately 5 feet, 10 inches

Tall with an average build.

And he wore a dark new york

Yankees baseball jersey with the

Number 23 on the back.

Unfortunately even this new

Technique could not produce a

Clear image of the kidnapper's

Face.

But using what they had, a

Police sketch artist released a

Rough drawing along with a

Physical description including

His clothing to the media.

Hundreds of tips poured in to

Police.

We would have this -- what we

Call the suspect du jour, which

Was like, "bad guy of the day."

These people would pop up.

They seemed promising.

Narrator: one of those tips

Led to donald dean christensen,

Who had a past conviction on a

Sex offense.

Christensen had been free at the

Time of katie's abduction.

There was no doubt about it

That mr. Christensen was a good

Look-alike as far as the video.

But the video was so poor that

Any number of dozens of people

Could have looked like that if

We would have just gotten a

Chance to look at them.

Narrator: donald dean

Christensen had several tattoos,

Including a large one on his

Left forearm.

But the security camera video

Revealed the kidnapper had no

Tattoo on his forearm.

Christensen was cleared.

And your name, please.

Narrator: three weeks after

Katie's abduction, dispatcher

Paula francisco answered a

Telephone call from a citizen

Who had a tip.

It was lead number 1,960.

This was the very first time

That I felt, "we might be onto

Something here."

Narrator: the caller worked

At the minnesota veterans home

In minneapolis and was

Suspicious of a janitor there

Who had just quit.

His name was donald albin blom.

The caller was suspicious

Because blom changed his

Appearance around the time

Katie poirier disappeared.

New haircut, clean shaven

Where there had been facial hair

Before.

He also indicated that he had

Seen the yankees jersey on

Numerous occasions -- that he

Was known to wear that.

And I literally could feel the

Chills up and down my arms

Thinking, "this is it."

Narrator: blom was 50 years

Old, married, and a father of

Four children.

A background check showed that

Blom had prior convictions for

as*ault, r*pe, and kidnapping,

Dating back to the 1970s.

His last conviction was in 1983,

When blom had forced two young

Women into the woods at

Knife point and tied them to a

Tree.

Fortunately the girls escaped

Before they were assaulted.

This one made the hair stand

Up on the back of my neck.

Narrator: but a check of

Motor vehicles revealed blom

Did not own a black pickup truck

As witnesses described.

Police hoped a search of blom's

Home would be far more

Revealing.

Narrator: when police

Descended upon the home of

Donald blom, they found no

Trace of katie poirier.

Blom said he was innocent and

That he had an alibi for the

Night of katie's disappearance.

When investigators learned blom

Owned vacation property near

Moose lake, they searched there,

Too.

I'm thinking, "okay, they've

Got this guy, and he's gonna

Tell where she is, and we can

Just go get her.

And the authorities, the law,

They can do what they have to

Do.

I'm gonna have my baby girl back

Home."

Narrator: once again there

Was no sign of katie.

But investigators noticed a

Large fire pit next to a trailer

On the property.

Technicians sifted the fire pit

For trace evidence and found

Several small items that

Appeared to be bone.

I wasn't going to tell the

Poiriers that I thought their

Daughter was dead.

I wasn't gonna take that hope

Away from them until I had some

Proof.

Narrator: police asked a

Forensic anthropologist,

Dr. Susan thurston-myster, to

Examine the fragments.

She says human bone differs from

Animal bone.

The cross section of human bone

Has a circular pattern.

Animal bone is linear.

So, I began to sort them into

An animal pile, human, and then

An indeterminate pile that the

Pieces were so small, you

Couldn't make the determination

Of human or animal.

Narrator: dr. Myster examined

The human bone fragments to

Determine the age and sex of the

Victim.

This part of the pelvis called

The pubic symphasis was key.

The bone had an obtuse angle,

Greater than 90 degrees,

Indicative of a female.

And the oval surface was heavily

Ridged, characteristic of a

Young adult.

Skull fragments also helped

Determine the victim's age.

The joints, or sutures, of the

Skull bones were open.

Skull sutures typically close

Around age 35.

Dr. Myster concluded the remains

Were those of a young woman.

The age of the individual

Represented in the fire pit was

Between the ages of 17 and 24

Years of age.

Narrator: while the findings

Were consistent with

Katie poirier, it was far from a

Positive identification.

It sent me deeper and deeper

Into this black hole because I

Didn't want to think of the

Possibility of what it could be

Or mean.

Narrator: the bones were too

Badly damaged for dna testing

And collectively represented

Only 25 percent of a human

Skeleton.

Was the body incomplete at

The time she was burned or were

Segments removed during the

Burning process?

And that we don't know.

Narrator: but several tooth

Fragments also were recovered

From blom's fire pit.

Investigators called in forensic

Odontologist dr. Ann norrlander,

Who specializes in making

Identification based on dental

X-rays.

This tooth was the largest and

Most intact of those recovered.

The roots were a little

Narrower, and we were missing

All the enamel, or the

Protective outer covering, on

The crown of this tooth.

Narrator: dr. Norrlander

Identified the tooth as human.

When she compared it to

Katie poirier's dental records,

She saw that the shape and size

Were consistent with katie's

Lower left second molar, known

As tooth number 18.

And she noticed something

Else -- what looked to be

Remnants of a filling in the

Tooth.

Dr. Norrlander asked forensic

Scientists at the minnesota

Bureau of criminal apprehension

To conduct an analysis of the

Filling.

Forensic scientist mark nielsen

Used a scanning electron

Microscope to magnify the

Filling so that it was thousands

Of times larger.

What it, in a sense, allows

Us to do is to actually

Determine what the elemental

Composition is of the particular

Substance that we have within

The sample chamber.

Narrator: the microscope

Bombards an isolated section of

The sample with an electron

Beam.

And different elements will

React to the beam differently.

When this electron falls into

The inner shell, it gives off a

Characteristic energy in the

Form of an x-ray.

And this energy is associative

Of each element.

Narrator: so the type of

X-ray will reveal the elemental

Composition of the sample.

The results showed that the

Filling material in the tooth

Was highly unusual.

It contained zirconium and

Silicon in concentrations that

They had never seen before in

Dental cement.

When scientists contacted

Katie poirier's dentist,

Dr. Melanie meier, she told them

Something interesting.

Her records indicated she had

Replaced a filling in katie's

Tooth number 18 two weeks before

The abduction.

Dr. Meier said she used a

Brand-new material not yet on

The market to fill her tooth.

The material was a sample called

Relyx arc, which had been given

To her at a dental conference.

That material was

Specifically designed to use

With alloy fillings and amalgam

Filling to bond it to the

Tooth.

That procedure hasn't always

Been done, so it was something

New.

Narrator: dr. Meier told

Investigators that relyx was

Manufactured by the 3m company,

Headquartered in minnesota.

When contacted by police,

Chemists at 3m said that relyx

Contained concentrations of two

Elements -- zirconium and

Silicon, the same materials in

The same concentrations that

Were found in the tooth in

Donald blom's fire pit.

That was the positive

Identification of katie poirier.

It doesn't get any easier.

A kleenex would be nice.

Narrator: in a garage on one

Of donald blom's properties was

The black pickup truck with the

Same license plate police were

Looking for.

State records listed blom's

Truck as white, a clerical

Error.

Donald blom was arrested and

Charged with katie poirier's

m*rder.

It is the most heinous crime.

I can't fathom anything worse

Happening to an individual --

Being kidnapped and then

m*rder*d.

Narrator: when confronted

With the scanning electron

Microscope findings, blom

Confessed to katie's m*rder

During a taped conversation with

Special agent phill wagner.

There was a coolness in his

Voice.

This is a bad man.

Bad man.

Narrator: blom admitted to

Kidnapping and k*lling

Katie poirier.

He went into the convenience

Store.

He took katie out.

He put her in the truck.

He drove her to his property.

He led her down to the fire pit.

And then he choked her to death

From behind.

And he burned her.

Narrator: but two weeks

Later, donald blom recanted,

Claiming the confession was

Coerced.

Prosecutors know that blom was

In the vicinity of the

Convenience store that day

Because his credit card receipts

Show he purchased liquor nearby

Around 5:00 p.m.

The sandwich shop employee saw

Blom leering at customers in

The parking lot around



Katie was abducted.

Blom may have seen katie then

And returned at 11:30, entering

The store when she was alone.

Prosecutors explained the

Scientific evidence to the jury,

Especially their smoking g*n --

The dental filling material in

The tooth identified as katie's,

A material which was so limited

In distribution, it wasn't yet

On the market.

The jury understood the scanning

Electron analysis.

Donald blom was convicted of

First-degree m*rder and was

Sentenced to life in prison

Without parole.

The verdict is little solace for

The poiriers.

Our dinner table has one

Empty place setting.

The holidays come around and we

Have to change the routine

Because santa claus can't come

Christmas morning anymore for

Two kids, you know?

He should have never been out

In the first place.

This should've never happened.

Narrator: as a result of this

Case, minnesota law makers

Passed "katie's law," which

Includes stiffer penalties for

Convicted sex offenders and

Mandates better ways for police

To track past offenders.

And the conoco chain that

Employed katie poirier now

Requires that at least two

Workers are on duty each shift.

Science is what put

Donald blom in prison.

Science is what removed that

Threat from our streets.

I wouldn't even want to

Speculate on what could have

Happened if we didn't have the

Forensics.

I'm just thankful that we had

Such good individuals able to

Provide the information that I

Needed for court.

You couldn't have tried this

Case without them.

It's one of those cases.

There are cases that come by in

Your life that you're amazed

By -- that, you know, the little

Things that we do that people

Might be extremely interested in

Are very simple things.

But the fact that there was one

Tooth that happened to be there

That was the one tooth that the

Dentist happened to do his work

On, made the case.