Accountability doled out to suspects. 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. Even though the police were tipped over 200 times in the weeks following the murder, the case eventually grew cold as investigations stretched on. Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. 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. He began working with Parabon NanoLabs, now a leading company helping police solve crimes through genetic tracing. He was around 25 when he killed Martinko in 1979. [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. Mason City police won't disclose whether or not they are now looking at Jerry Burns as a suspect in that case. Jerry Lynn Burns will raise two . [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. [9][2], Police had few leads and appealed to the public for tips. . A witness testified he signed this image from a newspaper article about the case. Jerry Lynn Burns. Murderer Jerry Lynn Burns was not caught for almost 40 years. [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. She was stabbed 29 times in the face, neck, and chest. County, FL. Vikings PR. When Burns, of Manchester, Iowa, was questioned, he "denied committing the offense but could offer no plausible explanation why his DNA would be found at the crime scene," police said. The murder of Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of Cedar Rapids' Westdale Mall has some eerie connections to the Huisentruit case. He and his wife, who now reside in Florida, said they . The family of the man suspected of murdering Michelle Martinko 39 years ago said the arrest came "as a complete shock.". May 12, 2021 at 04:20 PM. Might be nothing, but Jerry has a cousin who went missing in 2013 and it has become a cold case and Jerry's wife committed suicide in 2008. This "tragic case" had been "haunting this community for 39 years," Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said Wednesday. Burns pleaded not guilty in 2019 and when his trial was supposed to begin in October of that year, his defense team requested additional time to review fresh pieces of evidence and gather witnesses. "[2] When asked if he had killed someone that night in 1979, Burns repeatedly told investigators, "Test the DNA". Court is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.. He was never charged with the Martinko murder, he denied the accusations, and DNA evidence, found later, did not match his DNA. [2] The police received more than 100 tips following the release of the new images. During the trials, Burns was found to contradict his own statements. 20-1150 APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY HONORABLE FAE E. HOOVER . With genetic genealogy, an unknown killer's DNA from a crime scene can be identified through his or her family members, who voluntarily submit their DNA to a genealogy database. The 55 year-old Delaware County man was last seen on December 19, 2013 - 34 years to the day of Martinko's murder. While the information is believed to be accurate, the Iowa Department of Corrections makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information. "Well, I kind of think you do a little bit," Denlinger responded in the video interview. William Brangham: Turns out the murderer was a distant, distant relative of Jennings. Police covertly obtained Burns' DNA from a drinking straw he left it on a table after eating lunch Oct. 29, 2018, at the Pizza Ranch in Manchester, testimony showed. Investigators also showed Burns two renderings DNA labs had supplied them of possible suspects; he questioned their likeness to him. State of Iowa. The black dress Michelle Martinko was wearing when she was murdered was sent to the lab for testing. The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. Denlinger said no. A struggle followed in which Michelle was stabbed and sliced by a knife almost 30 times in a horrific murder that police initially believed had to be a crime of passion. A Felony. 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. [9] The killer left no fingerprints, which led police to believe they had worn gloves. Martinko then asked another acquaintance to go to the mall with her; that friend said yes at first but later changed her mind. Powered by. [23] Out of more than 80 potential suspects that had been identified over the years, more than 60 people were tested and cleared of suspicion. He was born on December 09, 1952 to Harold Eugene and Virginia Burns in Osceola, Arkansas. Allison, who's being . [2], On December 19, 2018, exactly 39 years after Martinko's murder, Burns was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Investigators struggled over the years to connect DNA collected at the scene to a suspect. Jerry Lynn Burns is pictured in a booking photo released by the Linn County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 20, 2018. Burns maintained that he did not know Martinko and was not there when she died, although an investigator later testified that Burns did not specifically deny killing Martinko. 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. [12] Martinko, who was a senior in high school when she was killed, had plans to attend Iowa State University to study interior design. The victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko. Court documents said blood on clothing worn by Martinko and a blood stain on the gear shift of the car, where the teens body was discovered, were analyzed and found to belong to someone else. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was arrested on Wednesday after police said he was linked by DNA from blood found on Michelle Martinko's clothing and elsewhere in the car at the crime scene. Authorities believe Burns stabbed the Kennedy High School senior in the chest and face inside a car parked at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. 'A complete shock': Family of suspect in Martinko murder releases statement, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. 1, 2021 3:52 pm608d ago, Caleb McCullough Health Care and Medicine Jun. Log In. GEDmatch returned one person who shared DNA markers with the suspect in Martinko's murder, and it determined her to be likely the killer's second cousin once removed. On August 7, 2020, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. 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. Hi! We need somebody from their family to have tested in order to resolve these cases.". Suspect in Martinko murder not suspected in wife's death or cousin's disappearance, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. She will be remembered as a wonderful mother and wife, loving to spend time with her granddaughter . [4] Documents concluded that fewer than one in 100 billion people would match the DNA profile. This narrowed down the possible suspects to three brothers - Ken, Don, and Jerry Burns. His voice was always turned up to full volume. The final nail in the coffin was when a witness gave his statement to the court. . Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. Burns' defense team objected to the wording of one of the prosecution's questions, which they claimed implied unequivocally that Burns' blood had been at the scene. During the investigation, the police assumed that there were personal motives involved in the murder due to the nature of Martinko's stab wounds. Michelle Martinko was an 18yr old student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. Burns stated that DNA evidence had been mishandled in 1979 in one instance, but denied ever being present on the night of the murder in another. He was born in Hundred, WV on April 24, 1930, a son of the late Robert Lee and Rebecca Taylor Merriner. 39 years later after the murder, a person named Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, and charged with first-degree murder. 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. [26] When the DNA sample was tested, it matched the blood sample found at the crime scene. It goes beyond the simple news reporting of case solved using genetic genealogy. The podcast explores who these perpetrators are, possible motives and features interviews with investigators who are willing to talk because the cases have already been resolved in court. 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. Her killer will go undetected for almost 40yrs! Burns said when presented with the rendering. His trial was originally scheduled for October 14, 2019, but in September the defense requested a delay in order to gather more evidence and interview witnesses. He would have been around 25-years-old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December of 1979. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. His cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on the 19th of December 2013. Burns was arrested on Dec. 19, 2018. 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. Denlinger said they went to Burns' business, Advanced Powder Coating Concepts in Manchester, and he agreed to talk with them. Her case went cold for decades until DNA testing finally brought her family some peace and put her murderer behind bars. "Hmm, strange," Burns responded when Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matthew Denlinger told him he was a suspect for Martinko's death. Would love your thoughts, please comment. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. Like all the cases I cover, Michelle's was solved using forensic genealogy, which led police to Jerry Lynn Burns. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. UPDATE: Trial set for Iowa man accused in 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko . "Murder at . Investigators matched DNA found in the car to Jerry Burns and arrested him in 2018. In 2006, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was tipped with an update. Parabon. Convicted murderer Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, 18. Jerry Burns, of Manchester, is led into a courtroom at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport for closing arguments in his murder trial in February 2020. The judge ordered a $5 million cash bond, and Burns is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28. [2], Martinko's father, Albert, died in 1995. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. When the detectives first investigated this case, they thought of the homicide as being personal in nature - based on the 10 stab wounds . Denlinger said he intentionally chose that day to interview Burns because it was the anniversary of Martinko's death. "Burnsie was laying siege to New Orleans," said Lynn. In his video interview with police right before his arrest, Burns, unsolicited, mentioned the name of Jodi Huisentruit as he was being questioned about the Martinko case. 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. (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. [9] After the event, she asked her friend and twirling squad teammate if she wanted to join her on a shopping trip to the Westdale Mall, which had recently opened, and where Martinko worked. Jerry Burns may be a hitched man, having a . physical distance - it was a 2 hour drive to and from mason city to cedar rapids. Jerry Lynn Burns (defendant-appellant), which is before the Iowa Supreme Court. But Denlinger did get consent from Janice Burns, Burns' first cousin, and collected her DNA for testing, he said. Creighton Waters said the disgraced legal scion, 54, faced a 'gathering storm' of financial ruin that drove him to kill Maggie and Paul at the family's hunting estate in Moselle, South Carolina . [11], In the mid-1980s, Martinko's father filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Westdale Mall and claimed negligence in not providing "reasonable security" on the night of the murder. Martinko, an 18-year-old high school student, was found stabbed to death in her family's car in the parking lot of a local mall, where she had gone to buy a new coat. 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. And he had the daunting task of trying to figure out who that could be, armed only with an unidentified sample of blood DNA. Sexual Assault of Unnamed Victim (12) . On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Visitation with the family will be Monday April 10th from 4 to 8 PM and on. The police considered the murder personal in nature based on the manner of death, according to Little Village magazine. Homerline, a soft-spoken woman who enjoyed teaching Sunday School, did everything possible to avoid attention. During this difficult time and as the justice system runs its course we ask that our privacy be respected.. Gerald Edward "Jake" Merriner, 92, of Jane Lew passed away on Monday, February 27, 2023 in the Stonewall Jackson Hospital. family - he had 3 kids - tough to sneak away for 4 hours when you have kids unless he was on a business trip. According to Reusse, Burns would generally be a bit more careful with his language during a press conference or whenever there were cameras . [28] The defense also requested that evidence pertaining to Burns' cell phone browser history be suppressed. Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. [22][12] From that, police were able to build a partial DNA profile. 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 Jerry Lynn Burns' DNA sample was collected from a plastic straw he drank soda with. Visitation for Jim will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023 from 4:00PM until 6:00PM at the Peacock Family Chapel. Allison says Burns threatened him one day after a winning streak. Holst said that in reviewing Burns' computer, he found hundreds of searches and website visits - a pattern that happened several times a week. Please logout and login again. Cutting-edge DNA technology was used to solve the cold case. Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT, a group of 41 people. Jerry Lynn Burns faces a first degree murder charge in the killing of Michelle Martinko. 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. Last . Martinko then went to the mall alone, carrying $180 and intending to finalize the purchase of a new winter coat that was on layaway. 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. . Jim grew up . [2] Police determined from the lack of blood outside the car that Martinko had been killed while in the car, and the medical examiner later estimated she had died between 8 and 10p.m.[17] The murder weapon was "sharp-pointed" but not definitively a knife, and the medical examiner could not determine its size. He began to search for her, as did the police. 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. Michelle Martinko, Kennedy High School yearbook photo, 1979. Teen Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death in 1979. Hernando . I like that it's just the facts and case without anyone trying (poorly) to be a comedian or talk about their own personal nonsense lol. 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. jerry lynn burns defendant-appellant. 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. This revealed everything, and Burns was ultimately declared guilty of first-degree murder. 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. The images looked considerably different from the 1980 composite sketch and showed a man with blond hair and blue eyes. 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]. [10] Police considered the killing to be "personal in nature" based on the number and location of stab wounds. Jerry was married to his second wife at the time of his arrest. The majority of the search activity and history on Burns' computer was sexually graphic and more 'deviant in nature, said Holst, who investigates sex crimes and internet crimes against children. 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. Jerry Lynn Burns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. They . In 2012, while serving a life sentence for an unrelated attack, the man died in prison from colon cancer. "I am thrilled for her sister, Janelle, and wish her parents were alive to see this," Michelle Martinko's high school friend, Elizabeth Laymon, told The Des Moines Register. . Jerry Burns Wife: Who Is He Married To? In 2018, familial DNA identified a suspect named Jerry Lynn Burns, and the case was finally laid to rest with the accused getting sentenced to life in prison without parole. After the arrest this week of Jerry Burns in the 1979 killing of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko, an Iowa city is left shocked, saddened, and skeptical. / CBS News. Her death was ruled a suicide. 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. Parabon made predictions for "ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape," police said, and the department released the composite images to the public in May 2017. During this time, according to the testimony, he made a reference to 'blacking out but didn't explain it. Jerry Burns mentioned Jodi by name while speaking to an investigator shortly before his arrest. 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. 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. ", Whoever the killer was, he had come prepared. 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. 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. Denlinger had to consider that Michelle could have been murdered by a stranger. KWQC Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. [10] She wore a black jersey dress and black scarf, black tights and heels, and a waist-length white and brown rabbit fur jacket, and she carried a brown leather purse. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to appear Thursday in Linn County Court. The new technique, started this year with the "Golden State Killer," has identified over two dozen suspects. 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. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. Denlinger then told him he had a search warrant for his DNA. Unfortunately, this led the police nowhere at the time and the case gradually got cold. In fact, his father Harvey, now 85, had been one of the original officers on the case 40 years earlier. [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. Place of rest will be in the Dickson County Memorial Gardens. Burns was born in Manchester, Iowa in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. They wanted to try to get an explanation for why Burns' DNA was found at the crime scene and to get a DNA sample from Burns to confirm the DNA obtained from the drinking straw. In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. [16] Based on cash found in Martinko's purse, police concluded that she had not been robbed. I miss all her singing and her beautiful music. [12], In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to create additional images of the killer based solely on DNA clues about facial appearance and ancestry. He testified last week he took the straw after it was discarded. Familial matches let them narrow down the suspect list to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa. However, the case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on. "Do I look like that?" What began to turn the case around was the emergence of DNA as a forensic tool for crime fighting in the late 1990s. Anthony Rex officiating. Ha ha. [6] In September 2020, Burns filed a notice of appeal. 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. Things that make it difficult. [2] That narrowed the suspects down to a set of three brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. [35] On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and state rights were violated and that the court made a mistake in overruling the request for evidence to be suppressed. Dr. Obrecht Learns if She's a Bone Marrow Match for Willow Plus, Nikolas' Whereabouts Are Revealed. The primary evidence police had to go on was blood on Michelle's dress and on the car's gearshift that in 2005 was finally identified as male DNA. 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Put her murderer behind bars Manchester this morning nowhere at the Peacock family Chapel create an account to your... I kind of think you do a little bit, '' denlinger responded in the murder. For 39 years ago said the arrest came `` as a wonderful mother and wife, to... Matches let them narrow down the possible suspects to three brothers from Manchester,,!