Testimony concluded in Blom trial

VIRGINIA, Minn. (AP) -- Testimony concluded Tuesday morning in the murder and kidnapping trial of Donald Blom.

Leo Sioris, a toxicologist from the International Poison Center and the University of Minnesota, was the final witness.

Sioris testified that the medications Blom was taking in the Carlton County jail were in the normal to low end of the dosage ranges.

Blom's defense attorneys claimed that Blom gave a false confession to kidnapping and killing Katie Poirier last year, in part because he was depressed and confused due to the amount of medication he was taking.

Defense attorney Rodney Brodin said that the reported side effects of some of Blom's medications included agitation, depression, insomnia and cognitive impairment.

In rebuttal testimony Monday, two law enforcement officers testified that Blom was lucid and cooperative when he confessed. Blom testified last week that he confessed after being worn down by poor health and being locked in a segregation cell in Carlton County for 23 hours a day.

Judge Gary Pagliaccetti told jurors he would give them their instructions Tuesday morning, followed by closing arguments from both sides.

Poirier's relatives appeared to be in an upbeat mood before court began, but the crowd outside the courtroom fell silent when Bernie Strandberg, a chaplain with the Carlton County Sheriff's Department, led a prayer.

"Oh Lord, we need your presence here today," Strandberg said. "Be with the judge so that he may be wise in his decisions."

Strandberg also asked God to guide the attorneys. "Be with the jury, so they may hear and choose with the facts, not emotions."

Pagliaccetti told jurors Monday they should prepare to be sequestered during deliberations.

Blom, 51, of Richfield, is accused of kidnapping Poirier, 19, of Barnum, from a Moose Lake convenience store on May 26, 1999, murdering her and burning her body in a fire pit at his nearby vacation property.

In other rebuttal testimony Monday, the director of the Minnesota Cold Weather Resources Center said it was not raining the day Blom allegedly dropped off a collection of survival gear at a relative's property.

Blom had testified that it was raining in early June when he left the gear on his uncle's property in Aitkin County near Moose Lake in preparation for a family camping trip. He said he left the gear in a wooded area not far from the highway because he did not want to drive up a muddy dirt road.

But Paul Nevanen of the weather center testified that there was no precipitation in the area June 3 or 4, around the time Blom said he left the gear behind.

Prosecutors suggest the survival gear shows that Blom intended to hide out in the woods after Poirier's abduction.