. 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. In October 2018, DNA was covertly collected from an Iowa man, Jerry Lynn Burns, and was found to match the sample discovered on Martinko's clothing. Place of rest will be in the Dickson County Memorial Gardens. Investigators had reviewed Burns' 2018 internet searches and found that he regularly visited websites showing blonde women being raped, stabbed, and strangled, and which depicted sexual intercourse with murder victims. The defense team for . Thirty-nine years to the day after she was killed, a suspect was charged thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. 24. 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. 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 company also produced approximations of how the man would have aged in the years since the crime. [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. Allison says Burns threatened him one day after a winning streak. Investigators matched DNA found in the car to Jerry Burns and arrested him in 2018. 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. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. 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. 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. [10] Police considered the killing to be "personal in nature" based on the number and location of stab wounds. [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. 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. 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. Hi all - I discuss the case of Michelle Martinko, who was murdered in 1979 in Iowa, this week on DNA: ID podcast. He entered a plea of not guilty. Jim grew up . Dave Franzman, a longtime reporter at ABC Cedar Rapids affiliate KCRG, Michelle Martinko's high school friend, Elizabeth Laymon, told The Des Moines Register. 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]. "Well, I kind of think you do a little bit," Denlinger responded in the video interview. Bryan. 6931989, Anamosa State Penitentiary, 406 N. High Street, Anamosa, IA 52205. On cross examination, Spies asked Holst if he had expertise in psychology or forensic psychology. But by 2 a.m., her father called the police because she had not returned home. But the software he used allowed him to review history and activity only to January 2018. 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. He said he thought Burns might have a 'conscience.. UPDATE: Trial set for Iowa man accused in 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko . Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. . 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. (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. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was arrested Wednesday and . December . [21] Psychics were also consulted early on in the investigation. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. "I read the article and it talked about genetic genealogy. [2], On December 19, 2018, exactly 39 years after Martinko's murder, Burns was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The new technique, started this year with the "Golden State Killer," has identified over two dozen suspects. 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. Be the first one to comment on this story. 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. [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. Cutting-edge DNA technology was used to solve the cold case. Yet they had a DNA match linking the Manchester man to the Cedar Rapids teenager, slain in 1979 outside the Westdale Mall. "The family never gave up hope that this case would be solved," Jerman said in a statement Wednesday. At the time of her death, police had found Martinko stabbed to death in her car in a local mall parking lot. And he said he couldn't talk about it," Michael Allison said, who shared a cell with Burns starting in September 2019. Her mother, Janet, died in 1998. His cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on the 19th of December 2013. Court is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.. 1, 2021 3:52 pm608d ago, Caleb McCullough Health Care and Medicine Jun. Martinko then asked another acquaintance to go to the mall with her; that friend said yes at first but later changed her mind. Investigators struggled over the years to connect DNA collected at the scene to a suspect. State prosecutors also showed a video interview they secretly recorded in 2018, after matching Burns' DNA to the crime scene and getting a search warrant to obtain further DNA. Burns kept pointing to the swab, he testified, and saying, 'Test it. Visitation will be held from 5 When Burns disposed of the straw, the investigator collected it and tested it for DNA. Log In. She will be remembered as a wonderful mother and wife, loving to spend time with her granddaughter . Her killer will go undetected for almost 40yrs! [14] Burns's cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on December 19, 2013 and has not been found. 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. "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. Jerry Lynn Burns is accused of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 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. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice.". "It looks personal, it's a lot of stab wounds, it's overkill," said lead Detective Matt Denlinger of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Hi! [4] Documents concluded that fewer than one in 100 billion people would match the DNA profile. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. He had followed them and secretly recovered their DNA. 19, 2018. The 55 year-old Delaware County man was last seen on December 19, 2013 - 34 years to the day of Martinko's murder. Investigators matched DNA found in the car to Jerry Burns and arrested him in 2018. The video of that is on YouTube and is mentioned around the 25:28 mark. In fact, his father Harvey, now 85, had been one of the original officers on the case 40 years earlier. [2][5] Her hands bore defensive wounds, which police said to indicate that she had fought back against her killer. Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria, a group of 39 people. [8][9] She attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was an above average student and well regarded by school officials. She was seen inside the mall by friends and coworkers because Martinko worked in the mall. Then in 2018, DNA phenotyping company GEDmatch, a public genealogy website that famously helped catch the Golden State Killer, started creating a family tree based on the killers DNA. In a brief interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette in 1980, Janet said of her daughter, She loved music. [39], Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 04:20, "Michelle Martinko's murder 'haunted' the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Martinko's father Albert and mother Janet died in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Oral Argument Schedule. People named Jerry Burns. She was a beautiful singer, and I miss all this. [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. His first wife, Patricia, died by suicide in 2008. She was stabbed multiple times in the face, neck, and chest. appeal from the iowa district court for linn county honorable fae hoover grinde, district court judge brief of amici curiae: american civil liberties union american civil liberties union of iowa electronic frontier foundation in support of defendant-appellant *pro hac vice application pending jennifer lynch* "Do I look like that?" [1][5][6], Michelle Marie Martinko (October 6, 1961 December 19, 1979) was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [16] Another rumor emerged that a second stabbing had happened in the following days and that police were keeping it secret, which police denied. Burns' wife, Patricia . Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared. Burns is accused of murdering Michelle Martinko in 1979. Jerry Burns stands with his lawyer Leon Spies (right) during a recess in the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in . 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. Holst said he didn't, but department officials and First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks did consult an expert who specialized in sex offender assessment and treatment to explain what this evidence indicates in this case. Be the first one to comment on this story. Glad you are liking it! 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. Accountability doled out to suspects. [29] The judge determined the search history was not usable in the trial due to the decades of time separating the murder and the searches. Born in 1953, Jerry Lynn Burns grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. The black dress Michelle Martinko was wearing when she was murdered was sent to the lab for testing. Jan. 16, 2020 7:49 pm, Updated: Jan. 17, 2020 2:37 pm. [9] She was fully dressed, and the medical examiner determined she had not been sexually assaulted. JERRY M. LYNN "Bear" Crown Point, Indiana Jerry M. "Bear" Lynn, age 59, of Crown Point, IN passed away on April 4, 2010. Identities returned to Does. Denlinger said they were uploaded to GEDmatch by Parabon NanoLabs, a private company the department worked with. [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. 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. Ken and Don were not a match but Jerry Burns' DNA was a match, to an almost perfect scientific certainty. Sexual Assault of Unnamed Victim (12) . On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. When the detectives first investigated this case, they thought of the homicide as being personal in nature - based on the 10 stab wounds . Your login session has expired. Jerry Burns stands with his lawyer Leon Spies (right) during a recess in the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. The similarities were eerie two pretty, young women, both meeting their final fate in parking lots in Iowa, 16 years apart, in cases that went unsolved for decades. Michelle Martinko, Kennedy High School yearbook photo, 1979. 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. Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested in October 2018 for the murder of Michelle Martinko, that took place 39 years prior. Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953 [13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. Jerry Lynn Burns (defendant-appellant), which is before the Iowa Supreme Court. 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. State of Iowa. When Denlinger reminded Burns that Michelle had been killed in 1979, Burns responded, "It was a big deal. 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. Although Burns's arrest in the Martinko case raised questions about the two incidents, police do not believe Burns was involved in either one. See if it is.. [36][37], On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 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. Her father died in 1995 and her mother died in 1998. This narrowed down the possible suspects to three brothers - Ken, Don, and Jerry Burns. 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. Denlinger told him authorities would come back to talk to him after they got the results of the DNA test. More than 40 years after Jerry Lynn Burns stabbed Michelle Martinko to death, a family and a community has closure. "That was big, national news," said Denlinger. He began to search for her, as did the police. The next day, she was found stabbed to death in the mall parking lot. 20-1150 APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY HONORABLE FAE E. HOOVER . This revealed everything, and Burns was ultimately declared guilty of first-degree murder. [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. KWQC . "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. Her friend declined. He grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. In 2017, Cedar Rapids police said they reached out to Parabon NanoLabs to help build a suspect profile based on the crime scene DNA. I've seen several articles that said he might be tied to other murders. DNA Profiling is a modern investigative technology used to compare criminal suspects' profiles to DNA evidence so as to assess the likelihood of their involvement in the crime. On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and . 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. During the investigation, the police assumed that there were personal motives involved in the murder due to the nature of Martinko's stab wounds. '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. Jerry was married to his second wife at the time of his arrest. Denlinger had found the needle in the haystack. Spies asked if he had consent from Burns to take the lunch straw for testing. [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. The detective, Denlinger, told me that he believes Jerry Burns has been reliving the murder in his fantasies ever since, but they have never been able to tie him to any other homicides. Further the Iowa Department of Corrections assumes no legal liability or . 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. "Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case," reported by "48 Hours" contributor Jamie Yuccas, airs on Saturday, August 7 at 9/8c on CBS. Jerry's hobbies included working on vehicles, hunting, fishing, racing cars, gardening, and working in the yard. Police sent the blood samples to CODIS the nationwide data base of DNA collected from arrested offenders but didn't get a hit. Through the use of advanced technologies, DNA samples from the offender were obtained. At long last, in 2018, Jerry Lynn was caught and blamed for the teen's manslaughter and, in spite of the fact that it had been a very long time after the wrongdoing, the once cool case is right now a subject of discussion on A&E's executioner cases. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. Denlinger had to consider that Michelle could have been murdered by a stranger. This sounds like a serial killer. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. [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. But then Denlinger's supervisor, who had been listening to the recorded interview from across the street with other officers, sent Denlinger text message telling him to arrest Burns. But detectives had been stymied. Want a job? 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. I hope you enjoy it!! 39 years later after the murder, a person named Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, and charged with first-degree murder. Jerry Burns appeals his conviction for murder in the first degree. Thus began the quest to finally nab Martinko's killers. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. But where is this cold-blooded killer now? He testified last week he took the straw after it was discarded. Jerry Burns, busy back in Minneapolis, wasn't on the guest list that time. Jerry Burns is still behind bars . 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. Denlinger does NOT believe Burns is responsible for Jodi Huisentruit - rather that he admired/fantasized about whatever happened to her. 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.