Jury selection is still set to begin Feb. 10. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). Michigan School Teachers Admit to Being Porn Stars on the Side. Heretrievedit after Burns left it behind, according to search warrants. He waited for her at the mall and apprehended her in the parking lot, according to the theory. "This was a brutal, violent, horrendous crime," Linn County Assistant Attorney Mike Harris said at the time. Nick Maybanks, first assistant attorney in the Linn County Attorney's Office, said prosecutors will be filing a motion for resistance, but declined to comment further. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. Curtis Rogers created the biggest public database, called GEDmatch, that's now used by police to solve crimes. Chief Wayne Jerman announced that a suspect has been arrested in the 39-year old murder case involving Michelle Martinko. He was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. 2 Support our award-winning, independent journalism with a subscription today. "The community is in shock, his friends are in shock, his family is in shock. Here's the Update in His Case. Follow reporter Anna Spoerreon Twitter at@annaspoerre. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. During an interview with the Des Moines Register, Laymon called the arrest "amazing" news and said she was relieved. Burns' attorneys claimed the case has been surroundedby "pervasive and prejudicial pretrial publicity" and has been in the public eye for the past four decades,court filings show. All Rights Reserved. NewsHour regrets the error. 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. Nicholas Maybanks, the Linn County prosecutor handling the case, did not resistthe continuance, court records show. But Usry knew he hadn't done anything wrong. Leads in the case resulted in dead ends until investigatorsused a genetic genealogy website to connect Burns' DNA to the crime scene. WebJerry Lynn Burns, 64, was arrested Wednesday morning and is facing a first-degree murder charge in the case. Her father died in 1995 and her mother died in 1998. Thus began the quest to finally nab Martinko's killers. Investigatorssaid the man who stabbedMartinko cut his hand and left blood behindon her clothes and on the gear shift knob. Around 4 a.m., Martinko was found inside her familys Buick Electra. A father took an at-home DNA test. His son was then falsely - PBS Police questioned Burns at work in Manchester, Iowa where he denied killing Martinko. Based on the number of stab wounds particularly to the young womans face police considered the homicide personal in nature. Police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, in the decades-old fatal stabbing. Turns out the murderer was a distant, distant relative of Jennings. Burns was drinking soda through a clear plastic straw. Decades of technological advancements ultimately allowed experts to construct a partial male DNA profile from a blood scraping on the gear shift of the Martinko family car and a blood stain on the back of Martinkos dress. He didn't know who or why. An analyst at the Iowa state crime lab found that DNA from the straw matched the blood found on Martinkos dress. "We don't exactly know the whys and some of the details, but we definitely know who did it, and that was terribly important to us," she said. Burns' trial attracted national attention because the cold case was solved after 39 years due in large part to DNA evidence and genetic genealogy. In October 2018, Matthew Denlinger, a Cedar Rapids police investigator,saw Burns drink sodas out of a plastic glass with a clear straw. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matt Denlinger listens as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (out of frame) speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Investigators matched the male profile at the crime scene to DNA on a straw Burns left behind at a Manchester Pizza Ranch. Investigators saw Burns eating at a Pizza Ranch in Manchester. Jerry Lynn Burns, who was charged in the case of Michelle Martinko, as explained on 'Killer Cases,' was found guilty of murder, so where is he now? Police said in a statement that officers identified Burns as a suspect after DNA technology allowed them to create a composite sketch. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Offender Information He was born in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. Although Burns' conviction and sentencing is clear and he is now in prison, his legal team has continued to assert his innocence and overturn the verdict. An hour before announcing Burns arrest, police in Cedar Rapids tweeted that there had been a major development in Martinkos murder. Then for a verdict. His family and friends remained seated after Martinkos family left the courtroom. After turning to GEDmatch, a commercial genetic genealogy site, investigators narrowed their suspects to three brothers, all in Iowa. Debates across the country have arisen about whether the use of such information is a violation of people's privacy. DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWWL) - State prosecutors called a former cellmate of Jerry Burns in his murder trial, which continued Tuesday in Scott County. William Brangham shares a "cautionary tale" of how one person's DNA testing can have a wide impact. It was really scary, those three or four weeks, just because I knew that I had not been involved in any crime. Burns' DNA profile was developed from blood on Martinko's black dress. At the time of the murder, Burns was 25 and lived in Manchester, Iowa. I mean, I think that every person that has ever died or been killed or raped or whatever deserves to have justice done. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. use of such information is a violation of people's privacy, Taking genetic genealogy sites to trial: Iowa homicide case among first of its kind to argue DNA requires search warrant, DNA leads federal investigators to suspected serial killer in Iowa; Clark Perry Baldwin charged with killing 3 women in 1990s, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS2/FOX28) It's the cold case murder that's haunted Cedar Rapids for 35 years. Burns is being held at Linn County Jail. Music is courtesy of FesliyanStudios. Jerry Lynn Burns (64) was arrested 12/19/2018 and faces first-degree murder charges. Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester has been arrested and charged with 1st degree murder in the cold case murder of 18 yr old Michelle Martinko. "Those were issues that we raised earlier and we wanted toreurgethem in hopes that the court reexamines them," Leon Spies, Burns' attorney, told the Des Moines Register on Tuesday. 'A complete shock': Family of suspect in Martinko murder William Brangham is a correspondent and producer for PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. 2023 www.desmoinesregister.com. Dateline: Unforgettable - How did the police find Jerry Lynn Burns after almost 40 years. Michelle Martinko had planned to attend Iowa State University before her death in 1979. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns listens as Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover (not pictured) speaks at his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. She was stabbed multiple times in the face, neck, and chest. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared. Her obit says that she enjoyed farming and gardening with her husband. In 2006, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was tipped with an update. On June 19, 1980, police released a composite sketch, developed based on descriptions provided by two witnesses, of the man they believed stabbed Martinko. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS2/FOX28) It is the cold case murder thats haunted the Cedar Rapids area for 35 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 During the original investigation, detectives compiled a list of more than 80 potential suspects. An obituary for Burns wife, Patricia, says that she died in June 2008 at the age of 55. To learn the entire story of Michelle Martinko's murder, watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79. She uploaded them to a free public DNA database to find out more about her dad's side of the family. After several trials and errors, the suspects were narrowed down to three brothers who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. According to an affidavit, Birky, in a phone interview with an investigator who works for Spies, said she had been giving organ lessons to Martinko in 1979 at 'Carma Lou's House of Music. Martinko had lessons between 8:30 and 9 p.m., Birky said. After listening to almost two weeks of testimony, a jury of seven women and five men returned the guilty verdict after deliberating just shy of three hours. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Family and friends of Jerry Burns react as Burns is sentenced at his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Martinkowas found dead in her parents' Buickin the parking lot of Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids early on the morning of Dec. 20, 1979, curled onto the passenger seat floorboard, stabbed multiple times and bloodied from the wounds she sustained," first assistant Linn County attorney Nick Maybanks previously told jurors. After genealogy websites proved helpful in the investigation of the Golden State Killer, Iowainvestigators asked Parabon-NanoLabs, which had access to hundreds of thousands of genetic samples people uploaded,to see if there was a match in its database. Wounds on the teens hands showed she fought her killer. Michelle Martinko: Her murderer captured by Pizza Straw But after authorities in California used GEDmatch to catch the Golden State Killer, Rogers began to slowly welcome police into the database. The police considered the murder personal in nature based on the manner of death, according to Little Village magazine. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. The law cannot punish Burns for the damage he had done to Martinko's family or the 'terrible shock, shame, pain and devastation inflicted on the innocent lives of his own family. District Associate Judge Casey D. Jones set Burns' bond at $5 million on Dec. 20, 2018. Five years ago, Michael Usry Jr., largely because his father had done DNA testing, ended up in a police station in downtown New Orleans. In June the following year police released a sketch of a white man, in his late teens or early twenties, and around 6ft tall, on interviews with two witnesses. Later that day, her body was discovered in her family's car. Previous coverage:Decades after fatal stabbing, Michelle Martinko's family comes face-to-face with her alleged killer. ", Elizabeth Laymon, who was high school friends with Martinko, said shevividly remembersthe day classmates sobbed after they learned of the stabbing. "For Michelles family and friends, we know that the pain of losing a daughter, sister or friend will never go away," Jermansaid. In my case, it's used by the police to try to link me to a crime. YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. She was a beautiful singer, and I miss all this. ", In closing arguments Monday, Spies repeated a phrase from his opening arguments: "Genetic information tells us much about what we are, but not necessarily who we are or where we've been.". William Brangham Predictions were made for ancestry and facial features, police said. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Martinko's older sister, Janelle Stonebraker, told the Des Moines Register that their family had waited years for answers. Michelle Martinko slaying: Jerry Burns' found guilty of murder in pic.twitter.com/COPUDpaDMP, Cedar Rapids Police (@CR_Police) December 20, 2018. More:Iowa community tries to reconcile a cold case arrest and its long history with a neighbor. Burns then turned toward his family, sitting in the courtroom, and thanked them for their support. She affirmed her rulings made before and during trial regarding the defense's motion. 11, 2023 3:03 am19d ago, Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Sep. 12, 2021 10:48 am595d ago, Gage Miskimen Health Care and Medicine Jul. 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. The sample was put into a national computer database and was used to clear more than 70 of Martinkos acquaintances, according to NBC News. Add newsletters@thegazette.comto your contacts. And, finally, after maybe about an hour or two, they had to just basically go, no, we think that you you were involved with this crime. She could hardly speak.. When questioned by police, officers said that Burns had no explanation as to why his DNA would have been at the scene. Four decades ago, 18-year-oldMichelle Marie Martinko was found stabbed to death in the family's car in the parking lot of a Cedar Rapids mall. While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. In October 2018, an investigator was able to snag a straw used by one of the three brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, and tested it against the sample, getting a match. Where Is Jerry Lynn Burns Now? Life sentence in Michelle Martinko murder https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-father-took-an-at-home-dna-test-his-son-was-falsely-accused-of-murder. The police then began procuring evidence secretly. When it came crashing down was when they walked out of the room and the biggest state policeman that I have ever seen in my life came in with latex gloves and a cotton swab and said, I'm going to take your DNA now. He pointed out that Martinko's sister and brother-in-law said Martinko didn't take organ lessons; Carma Lou's House of Music wasn't in Westdale; and none of the many witnesses who testified at trial about seeing Martinko at the mall that night never mentioned it. Dateline: Unforgettable - Where is Jerry Lynn Burns now? 28, 2023 6:50 pm2d ago, Orlan Love - correspondent Sports 3h ago3h ago, Jeff Johnson Minor League Sports 20m ago20m ago. But there's some. After her dad died, Brandy Jennings, like millions of Americans, used one of those DNA testing kits to learn more about him and other relatives. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder. All Rights Reserved. Jerry Burns sentenced to life for killing Michelle Martinko in 1979 WebMichelle fought back and was able to injure Jerry, who bled on the gear handle and Michelles dress. But they're not upset about people getting caught. Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. Decades after fatal stabbing, Michelle Martinko's family comes face-to-face with her alleged killer, Latinos are opening more small businesses than anyone else in the US, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Be the first one to comment on this story. Burns' arrest prompted a round of whispering about two of his family members. An analyst at the state crime lab said DNA from the straw matched blood found on Martinko's dress. Until now, Stonebraker said. Years after Michael Usry Jr. was cleared, further genetic genealogy helped authorities identify the man they believe is Angie Dodge's real killer. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The Cedar Rapids Police Department said in a As the investigation slowed, a $10,000 reward was offered. It was a case, Cedar Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. He faces a first-degree murder charge after investigators say they found his blood at the crime scene. 'This case has haunted the community for 39 years'; arrest made in A need Mr. Burns kept hidden all his adult life. DAVENPORT, Ia. The victim, Martinko, was an 18-year-old high school student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was visiting a mall to buy a winter coat. Nsikan Akpan is the digital science producer for PBS NewsHour and co-creator of the award-winning, NewsHour digital series ScienceScope. She had gone to the mall that night to get a coat her mother had put on layaway. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Then for proof. Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. Burns further argues the trial courts refusal to instruct the jury on the law related to a witnesss motive to testify against Burns constitutes a prejudicial abuse of discretion. In October 2006, DNA information that was retrieved from the crime scene was sent to the Combined DNA Index System, CODIS. Over 40 years ago, teenager Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death outside a mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now in his late 60s, Burns is currently behind bars and will stay there till he dies. Her family shares the story you've never heard and pleads for your help. His wife and other close members of his family were allowed to attend the sentencing but seating was limited to allow for social distancing in the courtroom. The wait ended Monday, when a jury convicted Jerry Lynn Burns of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of 18-year-old Martinko. The police used the information to create a partial DNA profile. He was also ordered to pay $150,00 in restitution to Martinkos estate, according to KWWL. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover listens as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (not pictured) speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The case itself had initially led investigators to assume the crime had been one of passion, with the amount of stab wounds to Martinko's face, but even now, there have been no answers as to why it happened. Rhana Natour. During the trial, he initially denied knowing Martinko but his statements were found to contradict when his defense argued that evidence had been mishandled back in 1979 and that different articles of clothing from the crime scene should not have been stored together in one evidence bag. New York University's Erin Murphy, who studies genetics and the law, sees Usry's ordeal as a cautionary tale. Police found Martinko's body in her parents' tan 1972 Buick at Cedar Rapids Westdale Mall parking lot around 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, 1979. Kathleen T. Zellner Nicholas M. CurranElizabeth A. AragusRita Bettis AustenJennifer LynchNathan Freed Wessler Vera Eidelman Patrick Toomey, Sep 30, 2022 1:30 PM University of Iowa, College of Law, Levitt Audiotorium. Maybanks also choose not to resist the defense's request that the trial be moved out of the eastern Iowa county where the alleged crime took place. Familial matches let them narrow down the suspect list to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa. Martinko always came to her lessons alone but may have had someone waiting for her outside the mall. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) listen to Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover as she reads Burns' sentence at a hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The sketch indicated a white man in his late teens or early 20s, weighing between 165 and 175 pounds, and standing about 6 feet tall. Iowa community tries to reconcile a cold case arrest and its long history with a neighbor, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. I don't know why this upsets people. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@dmreg.com or on Twitter @TDavisDMR. Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) listen as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (not pictured) makes arguments on behalf of the state at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. They're upset about somehow that they are going to be roped into an investigation, they would feel unfairly, or that their privacy would somehow be violated, right? 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.. The family of Jerry Burns would like to thank our friends and the Manchester community for the support we have received since Jerrys arrest, read the familys statement. He was convicted of first-degree murder Usry was targeted because investigators, using an early form of genetic genealogy, linked his father's DNA to DNA from the murder scene. Martinko's body was found in her parents' Buick, which was parked near J.C. Penney at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. 'Killer Cases' Explores His His mark on the world, and the sum of his life, will be a short notice, saying: Convicted Martinko murderer dies in prison,' Stonebraker bluntly said. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was arrested Wednesday and accused of fatally stabbing the 18-year-old, whose body was found in her parents' 1972 Buick Electra in the Within days ofMartinko's killing, police received more than 200 phone calls and letters from people who wanted to help, according to Des Moines Register archives. The brothers were eliminated as suspects during the investigation. It was almost like a dream. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. We need those people to come forward and give us that information so we can bring closure to this case and to Michelles family., In announcing Burns arrest, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said, Last year, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Michelle Martinkos sister, Janelle, along with her husband, John Stonebraker. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns is led from the courtroom following his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. In June 2020, his attorney, Leon Spies, motioned for a retrial. 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 Burns, convicted of killing Michelle Martinko, says The preliminary hearing was on Dec 28, 2018. Martinko was found dead of stab wounds on December 19, 1979, in the parking lot of a mall where she had gone shopping for a coat. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. More than 60 were tested and cleared. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. The media showed up and then it was real. Martinko was a senior at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. But by 2 a.m., her father called the police because she had not returned home. Burns is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Michelle Martinko in 1979.