Iowan law mandates a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. Be the first one to comment on this story. Denlinger told him authorities would come back to talk to him after they got the results of the DNA test. The police used the information to create a partial DNA profile. Jerry was born May 22, 1944, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Fred Richard Lynn and Mary Ellen Manning and passed away on July 10, 2022. Denlinger took over the case in 2015, part of a second generation of cops who had struggled for decades to solve this seemingly unsolvable murder. 1, 2021 3:52 pm608d ago, Caleb McCullough Health Care and Medicine Jun. Jerry Lynn Burns, the suspect in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, makes a court appearance via video in Linn County, Iowa, Dec. 20, 2018. [9][2], Police had few leads and appealed to the public for tips. 24. In 2018, the company entered the DNA data from the case into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match. It was a cold case until 2018, when familial DNA identified a suspect 39 years after the crime who was charged, tried and convicted of her murder.[2]. In December 1979, Martinko, a high school senior who was on the twirling squad at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went to the recently opened Westdale Mall after her choir banquet at school to buy a new winter coat. Subsequently he interviewed Jerry Burns, who denied knowing or ever meeting Michelle Martinko. Investigators struggled over the years to connect DNA collected at the scene to a suspect. Prosecutor Nick Maybanks/Cedar Rapids Police Department, "Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case,". "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice.". Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. He would have been around 25-years-old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December of 1979. Supreme Court No. Michelle Martinko, Kennedy High School yearbook photo, 1979. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. In a brief interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette in 1980, Janet said of her daughter, She loved music. ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report. Denlinger said he intentionally chose that day to interview Burns because it was the anniversary of Martinko's death. A Manchester man convicted of first-degree murder has announced he has hired a new attorney who will seek to exonerate him of the crime, a private investigator has told the Manchester Press . On December 19, 2018, exactly 39 years after Martinko's murder, the police confronted Burns and arrested him after his DNA matched the one found on Martinko's clothes. Cellmate recounts multiple outbursts in Jerry Burns murder trial, The Christmas Project is back raising money for local non-profits, 3-year-old Cedar Rapids child confirmed dead from accidental drowning, The Carson King saga, a legendary Iowa tale of giving back, Active police investigation in Cedar Rapids, SIX MONTHS LATER: Derecho cleanup, recovery, replanting continues, Hawkeyes roll by North Carolina A&T 112-71. The case was solved, but there were lingering questions about Jerry Burns. Viewers also wondered if there was a connection to the disappearance of Burns' cousin, Brian Burns. Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested in the 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko. Jerry Burns is still behind bars on a $5 million cash bond, charged with first-degree murder in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. [20], On June 19, 1980, police released a composite sketch of a man believed to have killed Martinko, which they formed from descriptions provided by two witnesses under hypnosis. People named Jerry Burns. The video of that is on YouTube and is mentioned around the 25:28 mark. He grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. Thirty-nine years to the day after she was killed, a suspect was charged thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. "It's always the boyfriend, the girlfriend, the husband someone really close to the person. Let's uncover where he is now in this article. physical distance - it was a 2 hour drive to and from mason city to cedar rapids. Jerry Lynn Burns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. Jerry Lynn Burns granted independent journalist, Steve Ridge, an exclusive Christmas Eve interview, in which Burns also said he will seek a new trial in the Martinko murder. Later that day, her body was discovered in her family's car. Fifty-five-year-old Brian "Farmer" Burns was reported missing to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office in Manchester, Iowa, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, and the sheriff's office is asking for the public's help in locating him. Burns is accused of murdering Michelle Martinko in 1979. She was unsure her information would be of any use because she had read that the murder happened between 10p.m. and midnight, and it was 2a.m. when she drove by. He was born in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. But detectives had been stymied. Vikings PR. The Realm, a group of 34 people. The prosecution did not resist either request, and the trial was rescheduled for February 10, 2020 in Scott County. Denlinger had found the needle in the haystack. Doug Larison to reexamine the file and find what he believed to be the killers DNA in blood found on Martinkos dress that was not her blood. Burns had previously been married to Patricia Burns, who died in 2008 from suicide. She was stabbed multiple times in the face, neck, and chest. May 12, 2021 at 04:20 PM. Burns seemed to have a 'fetish for these violent, sexual themes, Cedar Rapids police Investigator Jeff Holst testified. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. [11][18] In the year after the killing, the number of people interviewed by police reached the hundreds, and up to 30 people were interviewed under hypnosis. However, the case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on. [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. Spies, on cross examination, asked if Denlinger had permission from Burns' two brothers and a distant cousin to access their DNA in developing a suspect pool. 20-1150). Lighthouse: The Dark Being, a group of 43 people. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). Unfortunately, this led the police nowhere at the time and the case gradually got cold. This technology helped the FBI arrest notorious serial killer, serial rapist, and burglar Joseph James DeAngelo (nicknamed Golden State Killer) in 2018. Ahead of the Dateline NBC episode about her death, heres what you need to know about the crime, the perpetrator, and what sentence he received at trial. In recent years, authorities began taking a closer look at a man named Jerry Burns, who was arrested and convicted in the 1979 abduction and murder of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. But the jury found the DNA connection convincing and after a nine-day trial, Burns was convicted of first-degree murder. Over 40 years ago, teenager Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death outside a mall in Cedar Rapids . Now, the solving of another long-cold casea young blonde woman murdered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, two hours away may shed new light on Huisentruit's disappearance and presumed murder. A spot of blood on the dress had a full male DNA profile and was consistent with the male DNA profile found on the gear shift. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. [18][19], Controversy arose five months after the murder, after a woman who was driving by the mall parking lot in the early hours of December 20 came forward with information. Martinko was 18, a senior in high school in 1979, when she was accosted as she was getting into her car on a chilly night in December following a trip to the mall. Michelle Martinko, pictured in a photo released by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, was stabbed to death in December 1979. A witness testified he signed this image from a newspaper article about the case. Through his research, he discovered that a woman named Brandy Jennings had uploaded her DNA to a website service to trace her own family history. [12] Martinko, who was a senior in high school when she was killed, had plans to attend Iowa State University to study interior design. Burns originally refuted every charge of involvement in this crime during interrogation by claiming he was unable to provide the authorities with a "plausible explanation" for why his DNA was found at the crime site. Exactly 39 years after Michelle Martinko's body was found, DNA evidence led to the arrest of a Manchester man who was charged with her 1979 murder. Log In. He also wished the Burns family well, saying they now have to pick up the pieces of their lives just like the Martinko family did. But by 2 a.m., her father called the police because she had not returned home. [2] Once there, she perused the stores and spoke with friends and other people she knew who worked there. [2][16] At 2a.m., since Martinko had still not returned home, her father reported her missing. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH). Prosecutors played a covertly recorded interview that investigators conducted with Jerry Lynn Burns in December of 2018. He was born in Hundred, WV on April 24, 1930, a son of the late Robert Lee and Rebecca Taylor Merriner. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. The police then began procuring evidence secretly. Homerline, a soft-spoken woman who enjoyed teaching Sunday School, did everything possible to avoid attention. Investigators matched DNA found in the car to Jerry Burns and arrested him in 2018. The lab determined that the DNA collected from Burns was a match to DNA from the blood found on Michelle Martinko's clothing and was consistent with the DNA profile developed from blood found elsewhere in the car, Jerman said. Born in 1953, Jerry Lynn Burns grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. KCRG-TV9: 10PM Newscast, December 19, 2018 Arrest in Michelle Martinko Case, KCRG-TV9 Staff Anchors: Bruce Aune and Beth Malicki Meteorologist: Joe Winters Executive Producer: Aaron Hepker Producer: Ellen Kurt Director: Terri Walter Reporters: Dave Franzman, Forrest Saunders, Chantelle Navarro Photographers: Rebecca Varilek, Jay Greene, Michelle Martinko's Family Speaks to Law & Crime Network About the Jerry Burns Verdict, Michelle Martinko's Family Speaks to Law & Crime Network About the Jerry Burns Verdict #JerryBurns #JerryBurnsTrial #MichelleMartinko, Serial Killers Ex Thinks There Were More Victims. To learn the entire story of Michelle Martinko's murder, watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79. After her parents reported her missing at 2 a.m., police discovered the teen's body in her vehicle about four hours later. On Dec. 19, 1979, Michelle Martinko, 18, left a school banquet and drove her family's car to the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to buy a winter coat, Cedar Rapids police said. ", First published on November 6, 2020 / 8:47 AM. She had looked into the parking lot as she drove by to check for her daughter's car because her daughter worked at the mall and had had car trouble before. 28, 2021 7:50 am611d ago, Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Mar. However, in 2006, a tip came into the Cedar Rapids police department. Her father died in 1995 and her mother died in 1998. He was also ordered to pay $150,00 in restitution to Martinkos estate, according to KWWL. The trial was then moved to February 2020. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, of Manchester, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday, nearly 40 years after the brutal murder of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of Westdale Mall on December 19, 1979. What we know about Jerry Burns and the woman he's accused of killing 40 years earlier Dec 19, 2019/ updated Feb 17, 2020 Four decades ago, 18-year-old Michelle Marie Martinko was found stabbed to death in the family's car in the parking lot of a Cedar Rapids mall. Denlinger said they were uploaded to GEDmatch by Parabon NanoLabs, a private company the department worked with. [21] Psychics were also consulted early on in the investigation. Jerry Lynn Burns is pictured in a booking photo released by the Linn County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 20, 2018. "I was speechless," Denlinger says, recalling the moment the lab told him the results. On December 19, 2018, 39 years after Michelle Martinkp was murdered, Det. Linn. And the crucial link is a man named Jerry Burns. Feb. 1, 2019 | The Des Moines Register. Allison says Burns threatened him one day after a winning streak. A juvenile found carrying a knife was interviewed and ruled out in her murder, as was a shopping center employee who had told police that he enjoyed following women and ogling store mannequins. Jerry Lynn Burns faces a first degree murder charge in the killing of Michelle Martinko. In 2018, Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested and charged with the teen's murder and, although it had been decades after the crime, the once cold case is now a subject of discussion on A&E's Killer Cases. I've been reading up on this case and was wondering if they profiled this guy? [6] In September 2020, Burns filed a notice of appeal. Questions have been raised as to whether Jerry was involved in any other murders or missing person cases. Attorneys for Jerry Burns, convicted of the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, are continuing to fight DNA evidence they say the trial court erred in not supressing. Last week, a police investigator explained how using a public genealogy database - called GEDmatch - led to Burns being identified as a match to the DNA evidence found on Martinko's dress and gearshift of her car, where her body was found Dec. 20, 1979. [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. They then started to locate all the people that they had originally interviewed in the investigation and collected DNA samples from over 100 different people. She had goals for herself, things she wanted to do with her life, and she would write them down and achieve them., I dont know if Ill ever get over this, Mrs. Martinko added. The charge against Jerry comes as a complete shock to us and we are doing our best to carry on with our lives, the family said in the statement on Saturday. Thus began the quest to finally nab Martinko's killers. [2], Martinko had been stabbed 29 times in her face, neck, and chest. UPDATE: Trial set for Iowa man accused in 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko . "[2] When asked if he had killed someone that night in 1979, Burns repeatedly told investigators, "Test the DNA". "I cried a lot and I looked out windows all hours of the night," Martinko's mother, Janet Martinko, told Cedar Rapids' CBS station in 1987. On Wednesday, after weeks of "planning and strategizing," investigators interviewed and arrested Burns for first-degree murder, Jerman said. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, of Manchester, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday, nearly 40 years after the brutal murder of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of . More than 40 years after Jerry Lynn Burns stabbed Michelle Martinko to death, a family and a community has closure. Sexual Assault of Unnamed Victim (12) . timing. She thinks this new crime . He and his wife, who now reside in Florida, said they . Jerry Lynn Burns is accused of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [14] Burns's cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on December 19, 2013 and has not been found. See Photos. They also played a later recording, after Burns' arrest, in which Burns questioned whether he could have blocked out the memory of committing the crime.[30]. [2] A police spokesman said that "everyone's instinct is to say it was a guy", but they were not sure of the sex of the killer. Your login session has expired. Authorities said Burns was last seen at his 1381 180th St. residence in Delaware County on Thursday, December 19 . You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. [31] The defense argued that DNA evidence had been mishandled,[31] and that different articles of clothing from the scene should not have been stored together in one evidence bag. A funeral service for Jerry Calvin Lynn, 78, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. Dave Franzman, a longtime reporter at ABC Cedar Rapids affiliate KCRG, even covered the case at the time of Michelle Martinko's killing. Kayla Lemieux, the transgender high school teacher in Canada, has been put on paid leave after pictures emerged of her dressed as a man proving she does not wear the prosthetics all the time. / CBS News. [32] Prosecutors also played a video of a police interview of Burns, in which he denied being at the crime scene on the night of Martinko's murder, and could not explain how his DNA had been found at the scene. Sonny arrives at his restaurant and gives Dex, who is there, the night off. Yeah, it's really really good! But the software he used allowed him to review history and activity only to January 2018. So Denlinger drew up an elaborate genealogy chart going back to Brandy's great-great grandparents to sleuth out a trail that could lead to the killer's DNA. "The family never gave up hope that this case would be solved," Jerman said in a statement Wednesday. In earlier testimony, Matthew Denlinger, a Cedar Rapids police investigator who testified last week, was recalled to testify about Burns' interview with police Dec. 19, 2018. Jerry's hobbies included working on vehicles, hunting, fishing, racing cars, gardening, and working in the yard. On cross examination, Spies asked Holst if he had expertise in psychology or forensic psychology. KWQC And he said he couldn't talk about it," Michael Allison said, who shared a cell with Burns starting in September 2019. 2. (Supreme Court No. She never had any school problems. The hearing will continue in Linn County District Court, though a date has not been set. Allison also recounted a time when Burns tried to tear down a cellmate's bunk bed because he was snoring too loudly. It wasn't until decades after the killing that investigators began to link the emotions of a motive with the science of DNA. Familial matches let them narrow down the suspect list to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa. Police had searched his computer after arresting him, and found a history of searches pertaining to nefarious subjects including the murder of blonde women, and pornographic matter involving blonde women. In a press conference during which the new image was shared, a former classmate of Martinko exclaimed that the face looked like another one of their classmates, but that classmate had been investigated and was cleared based on a DNA swab several years before. The sample was put into a national computer database and was used to clear more than 70 of Martinkos acquaintances, according to NBC News. "We are reviewing the case and at this time have not uncovered any additional information that would implicate Jerry Burns in that disappearance," Sheriff John LeClere told TV9. Jim was born on April 20, 1933 in Walsenburg, Colorado to Geraldine Hudson McAlpine and Victor Paul Hudson and passed away on February 24, 2023 at his home in Amarillo, Texas with his family by his side at the age of 89. Like all the cases I cover, Michelle's was solved using forensic genealogy, which led police to Jerry Lynn Burns. I am a brokenhearted mother.. When the police executed a search warrant for Burns home and office, they found a computer search history that included blonde females, assault, rape, strangulation, murder, abuse and rape of a deceased individual, and cannibalism.. She was seen inside the mall by friends and coworkers because Martinko worked in the mall. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. They . Burns is accused of killing Cedar Rapids teenager Michelle Martinko in 1979. Burns was born in Manchester, Iowa in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. The sketch looked like a man in his 20s, weighing 165-175 pounds, and standing at around 6 feet. He said he remembered the case from seeing it in the news, but didn't know Martinko and didn't have anything to do with it, Denlinger testified. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew on flight to space station, Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, Sneak peek: Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case, Michelle Martinko, left, and Jodi Huisentruit. The defense brought only one witness, a self-described forensic DNA consultant, who testified on the possibility that police could have mishandled the evidence. [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. Michelle Marie Martinko Find-A-Grave: Michelle Marie Martinko Iowa Cold Cases: Michelle Marie Martinko Michelle Martinko stories 40 years later: What we know about Michelle Martinko and the arrest that re-opened the cold case Jury seated in Jerry Burns murder trial Michelle Martinko murder case evidence photos Iowa Teen Was Fatally Stabbed in Mall Parking Lot To learn more about the murder of Michelle Martinko, watch Dateline: Unforgettable on December 22, at 10:00 pm on Oxygen 79. Jerry Burns on Trial AP Jerry Burns of Manchester, Iowa, is led into the courtroom during closing arguments for his trial at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Cases previously considered unsolvable have been getting their answers, & Joseph DeAngelo's arrest (EAR/GSA/ONS) is proving to be just the first of many getting resolved. A article mentioned that the police found his Internet search history had stuff like 'murder, rape, harm of blonde women'. According to the investigator, "Burns showed almost no emotion during the interview, even when he was eventually told he was being arrested. Lives in Brentwood, Arkansas. "Well, I kind of think you do a little bit," Denlinger responded in the video interview. A jailhouse informant also testified in the case Tuesday. [2] She did not have many close girlfriends or confidantes, which was speculated to be caused by jealousy from other students over her beauty and stylish clothes[11] or conflict over a boy she had dated. [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. Rumors began to circulate about the crime. Like all the cases I cover, Michelles was solved using forensic genealogy, which led police to Jerry Lynn Burns. The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. During this time, according to the testimony, he made a reference to 'blacking out but didn't explain it. He may be one of the relatively rare "one and done" killers that we have learned about now that we have vastly improved DNA analysis technology. I hope you enjoy it!! wife was deter mined to be a distant cousi n to many of the Subject's more . Authorities pored over 300 pages of internet search terms and 400 pages of website history, according to court testimony Thursday - almost all of it involving blonde females and most web searches starting with queries about blonde strangulation. [10] A police spokesman estimated that in the week after Martinko's murder, more than 200 people responded to the detectives' appeals in the news for information concerning the case. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jeff Holst, an investigator with the Cedar Rapids Police Department, looks at a report he made which was entered into evidence as he testifies during the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Jerry Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. During the investigation, the police assumed that there were personal motives involved in the murder due to the nature of Martinko's stab wounds. Denlinger followed each of the brothers around clandestinely, waiting for them to discard an item containing their DNA, and then sent the collected samples to the crime lab. Anthony Rex officiating. This sounds like a serial killer. The man charged with killing Michelle Martinko 39 years ago is not a suspect in the death of his wife or disappearance of his cousin, according to investigators. Months before his February . At the department, Burns sked for a lawyer. In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to produce a new approximation of the killer's appearance based solely off the DNA sample. After reading about the Golden State Killer case in 2018, in which serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo was finally caught through a long trail of DNA, Denlinger had an epiphany: perhaps he could use that same new technique to solve the Martinko case. "It looks personal, it's a lot of stab wounds, it's overkill," said lead Detective Matt Denlinger of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. This really is an excellent true crimes podcast that is different from the many others that are being produced. . Investigators placed the three brothers under surveillance in an attempt to covertly collect their DNA, according to The Gazette. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was apprehended and charged with first-degree murder after authorities matched his DNA with blood samples found on the Martinko family car's gear shift knob. Almost 40 years later, with the help of DNA Technology, the culprit was nabbed and justice was finally served to Martinko and her grieving family. His hands and arms were also examined for scars possibly left by the assumed cut sustained during the attack. Burns, charged with first-degree murder in the cold case stabbing of Martinko, is asking the court to toss out DNA and other evidence because they were obtained without a warrant and represented violations of privacy and other rights. [2], In 2006, 27 years after Martinko's killing, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department received a tip connected to the case. [28] The defense also requested that evidence pertaining to Burns' cell phone browser history be suppressed. 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