Blom sent to prison in Pennsylvania

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Donald Blom, sentenced last week to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of a 19-year-old convenience store clerk, has been transferred to a prison in Pittsburgh.

Blom, who was found guilty Aug. 16, will be moved from Pittsburgh to a correctional institution in Camp Hill, Pa., where he will stay for three to nine months for evaluation. He then will be sent to one of 25 Pennsylvania prisons, authorities in that state said.

Where he is sent will depend on the level of custody needed and how much he is perceived to be a threat to society, according to a spokeswoman.

The Minnesota Corrections Department said Blom was moved out of Minnesota for his safety, but withheld Blom's whereabouts under a law that makes data confidential to the extent that it would "endanger an individual's life."

"Anytime there's a lot of notoriety or a crime that's particularly heinous, the inmates are aware of that, and that offender could enter a population and have some problems," spokeswoman Shari Burt said.