Longtime Carlton County attorney Thom Pertler died Monday after falling ill during a trip this fall.

Pertler worked for the Carlton County Attorney’s office for more than 23 years, starting as an assistant county attorney under Marv Ketola, and was well-known for prosecuting Donald Blom in 2000 for the murder of Katie Poirier. He won a conviction, despite a recanted confession and conflicting evidence. He also helped prosecute the Paul Antonich murder case in 1996, a case in which five men were found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a Duluth teenager after he accidentally rear-ended their ca...