Holly Spangler cold case gets a fresh look 30 year later

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Tucked away in the halls of the Bloomington Police Department sits an office covered in layers of Post-It notes and file folders. 

It may look a bit like a scene out of a movie, but somewhere hidden in these photos and transcripts, Detective Kristin Boomer hopes to uncover a clue that will finally solve a 30-year-old cold case. 

In July 1993, 19-year-old Holly Spangler went for a walk around 5 p.m. in Moir Park along Nine Mile Creek, but she never came home and was reported missing. Days later, her body was discovered with a single stab wound to the chest. There was no evidence of sexual assault, and her clothing was still intact. 

Holly worked at the Menards store in Eden Prairie when she was killed. FOX 9 had a chance to speak with one of her former co-workers, who said they immediately knew something was very wrong when Holly didn’t show up for work because she was an excellent employee and was never late. 

Despite leads, interviews, and evidence, the 30th anniversary of Holly's murder came and went this year with no arrests. The case landed on Detective Boomer's desk about a year ago. 

"The lack of physical evidence back then is extremely daunting," said Boomer. "You have to basically start at zero, and you’re trying to go back 30 years, and you don’t have the luxury of being there 30 years ago... I don’t have a great idea of what the scene looked like... I have pictures, but I wasn’t there."

Despite the challenges, a small breakthrough came this year. Bloomington police were able to take Holly's unsolved murder to a cold case conference in Texas. 

"As I was presenting there were investigators from across the United States who were giving me information...basically just shouting out, 'Hey, do this, do this, this might work!' so we had a whole list of new ideas on how to get this case going and get it off the ground," said Boomer. 

One of those ideas is new, refined DNA testing that would allow police to learn much more with much smaller samples of evidence. Another piece of the puzzle will be re-interviewing people, but there's one name that won't be on the list this time around. 

Donald Blom was living in Bloomington in 1993 and has been floated as a suspect in Holly's case for years.

"He was spoken to several times is my understanding, and he never admitted to anything," said Detective Boomer.

There has never been any physical evidence tying him to Holly's murder either. 

But Blom was found guilty of the 1999 abduction and murder of Katie Poirier in Moose Lake. He died in prison earlier this year. Detective Boomer says she's re-examining all leads, but thinks it is possible this wasn't a random crime. 

"For someone to get that close to someone and stab them, there has to be some communication with the person generally, but it’s unknown right now."