(Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). Jerry Lynn Burns' mugshot. Maybanks said it's likely nobody will ever know why Burns committed the crime. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder. The cold-case murder has drawn intense public interest, and Friday's hearing was livestreamed because of limited seating. His trial is set for Oct. 14 in Linn County District Court. We all kind of found out through classes we were in. But Usry knew he hadn't done anything wrong. But her sister Janelle and Janelles husband John Stonebaker were present at Burns sentencing. Maybanks recapped Monday how witnesses in the two weeks prior outlined an extensive chain of custody of the evidence to ensure no new DNA could have been introduced into the packages containing Martinko's bloodied clothes and pieces of the car. Then, in 2018, police used new DNA technology that hadn't been available in 1979 or even the '80s, when the composite sketch was released, to zero in on Burns and arrest him for Martinko's murder. Delaware CountySheriff John Leclere saidauthorities "don't have any reason to suspect (Burns) in either case.". Burns will have the rest of his life to ask for forgiveness and beg for mercy on his soul, but if he doesn't, at least he won't get to block it out anymore. While Burns attorneys didnt offer an alibi for where he was the night of Martinko's murder, Spies did suggest that since Burns had been to Westdale Mall with his family before, DNA he left behind at the mall couldve transferred to Martinko while she was at the mall Dec. 19. It was almost like a dream. 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. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared. Until now, Stonebraker said. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns makes a statement before his sentencing by Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. He didn't know who or why. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Speaking to KCRG, a classmate of Martinkos, Elizabeth Laymon, spoke about the day after her friend was killed saying, We went to school that day and it wasnt announced. Finally, Burns argues the evidence was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He played in college for the Michigan Wolverines before Follow reporter Anna Spoerreon Twitter at@annaspoerre. While waiting to receive the mandatory life sentence that comes with a conviction on that charge, Burns' attorney has asked the court to give the Manchester man a new trial. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) react as Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover reads Burns' sentence at a hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. The police considered the murder personal in nature based on the manner of death, according to Little Village magazine. Jerry Lynn Burns was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1979 murder 18-year-old Michelle Martinko thanks to DNA he left on a straw after drinking a soda. But when she got her results, she tried something new. 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. She thinks this new crime-fighting tool is a great thing. You can do a lot of credit card cancellations if things get into the wrong hands. 2023 www.desmoinesregister.com. He was sentenced to life on August 7 without the possibility of parole. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently being held at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. 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. Cedar Rapids police then used DNA genetic genealogical research to narrow the profile "down to a specific pool of suspects, which included Burns, according to a criminal complaint. WebThe Chilling Case Of Jerry Lynn Burns 10 views May 30, 2022 2 Dislike Share Save FourWaller ** 227 subscribers Michelle Martinko was an 18yr old student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. Tonight, William Brangham is back to explore the growing privacy debate around this new technique and why some people are urging that we slow down. BREAKING: Arrest made in the homicide of Michelle Martinko in 1979. pic.twitter.com/3mhKyLbNo9, Online records show that Burns has no criminal record in Iowa other than minor traffic infractions, reports CBS Iowa. 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. He was also ordered to pay $150,00 in restitution to Martinkos estate, according to KWWL. Martinko's body was found in her parents' Buick, which was parked near J.C. Penney at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. A week before Burns arrest, the station described Martinkos killing as one that still haunts the Corridor., In that report, the lead investigator, Matt Denlinger, said, I believe that someone in this community knows something about this case. Before sentencing, defense attorney Leon Spies made a motion for a new trial, arguing many of the same issues that had been ruled upon before. Please logout and login again. 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. They were so grateful to the Police Department for continuing to work on this case. She was seen inside the mall by friends and coworkers because Martinko worked in the mall. The music books either were dropped somewhere police didn't searched or the killer disposed of them, he said. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. ", "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," Janelle Stonebraker, Michelle Martinko's older sister, said after the verdict was read. KWQC It took around a month for police to process Usry's DNA to see if it matched the DNA from the crime scene. Burns pleaded not guiltyin January. Decades after the death, he had a voice in the first-degree murder sentencing of Jerry Burns, 66, of Manchester. 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. 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. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Friends and family of Jerry Burns react as he is led from the courtroom following his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. During this difficult time and as the justice system runs its course we ask that our privacy be respected.. Puro cash': Latinos are opening more small businesses than anyone else in the US, Julian Assange: Why he matters more than you think, Watch: 'She didn't let time just slip away': Family and friends remember Michelle Martinko. Teen Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death in 1979. There had been no signs to indicate the killing had been a sexual assault or robbery. Usry's dad seemed too old to be the killer, but Michael was not. For some reason, people really get upset about serial killers, mass killers and serial rapists being caught. READ NEXT: Serial Killers Ex Thinks There Were More Victims, Parents of Murdered Teenager Did Not Live to See Her Killer Brought to Justice, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. An analyst at the state crime lab said DNA from the straw matched blood found on Martinko's dress. The Cedar Rapids Police Department said in a statement on December 19 that Burns, 64, of Manchester, Iowa, was arrested at his place of work in the town. I miss all her singing and her beautiful music. By the time of Burns' arrest, both of Martinko's parents had been gone for decades: Martinko'sfather died in 1995 and her mother in 1998. "Ialso feel bad for, you know, his current family and friends because now they have to go through all this as well.". On the night of December 19th, 1979 someone killed 18-year-old Michelle Martinko inside her car in the parking lot at the new Westdale, The Mystery of Michelle Martinko: The Story Behind the Facebook Page. Nicholas Maybanks, the Linn County prosecutor handling the case, did not resistthe continuance, court records show. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Law enforcement said Burns hasnt been able to explain why his DNA would be at the crime scene, nor does he remember committing the crime. More:DNA leads federal investigators to suspected serial killer in Iowa; Clark Perry Baldwin charged with killing 3 women in 1990s. Plus, he made these grisly, violent low-budget films. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Family and friends of Jerry Burns are seated in the courtroom at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. In this video, I interviewed Robert Riley, one of the administrators for the Michelle Martinko Cold Case 1979 Facebook page. 'The Dating Game' Killer Was Active for Almost 10 Years Before He Was Caught, Angie Dodge's Killer Evaded Capture for Over 20 Years, Where Is Convicted Murderer Jeffrey MacDonald Now? Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. For nearly 40 years, the family of slain high schooler Michelle Martinko waited for an arrest. She was stabbed and killed 39 yrs ago today in the Westdale Mall parking lot. Wounds on the teens hands showed she fought her killer. Genetic genealogy can help solve cold cases. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to appear Thursday in Linn County Court. Michelle Martinko had planned to attend Iowa State University before her death in 1979. 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed Dec. 19, 1979, Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter. Her case went cold for decades until DNA testing finally brought her family some peace and put her murderer behind bars. Debates across the country have arisen about whether the use of such information is a violation of people's privacy. It was in May 2017 when officers announced that a composite sketch could be made from the DNA recovered. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover reads aloud a motion for a new trial filed by Burns at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, in the decades-old fatal stabbing. Burns' arrest prompted a round of whispering about two of his family members. William Brangham is a correspondent and producer for PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. Stonebraker said he is sad for the Burns family and wanted to 'wish them well.. 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. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was In his statement, Stonebraker said he will never forget Janet Martinko calling them early Dec. 20, 1979, after she had identified the 'bloody, torn, broken body of her beautiful daughter. Id sit through classes where people were crying and I didnt know why, until someone finally told me. Here's the Update in His Case. Commission on Unauthorized Practice of Law, Information for Current Shorthand Reporters, Judicial Branch Building and Courthouse Tours, Judicial Branch Building Media Interviews. William Brangham shares a "cautionary tale" of how one person's DNA testing can have a wide impact. The victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko. 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. But by 2 a.m., her father called the police because she had not returned home. 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. The media showed up and then it was real. Martinko was a senior at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. Birky said she recalled Martinko was dressed up that night and said she came from a musical banquet, according to the affidavit. 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. View Others View Public Details & Court Records See Who's Searching for You See Sites with Your Personal Info Make Changes to What Other's See Lock Sections of Your Profile Request Personal Reviews & (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. Investigators placed the three brothers under surveillance in an attempt to covertly collect their DNA, according to The Gazette. Investigators saw Burns eating at a Pizza Ranch in Manchester. We would also like to extend our sympathy to the Martinko family.. It's not just, oh, my brother chooses to do this, but my sixth cousin I never met chose to do this. 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. District Judge Fae Hoover on Dec. 9 agreed to move the trial to the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport. "We left Cedar Rapids, but Cedar Rapids never left us," he said, choking up outside the courthouse while his wife nodded in agreement. He also said it was difficult to believe that law enforcement never came across such information in the nearly 40 years of investigation. 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. 28, 2023 6:50 pm2d ago, Orlan Love - correspondent Sports 3h ago3h ago, Jeff Johnson Minor League Sports 20m ago20m ago. Jerry Lynn Burns is accused of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But not everyone is so eager to have their DNA end up in a police dragnet. When questioned by police, officers said that Burns had no explanation as to why his DNA would have been at the scene. 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. Hundreds of people were interviewed and countless leads were followed, police said a year after the slaying. Investigators used the blood samples to develop a partial male DNA profile. When Burns finished eating, he got up and walked out of the restaurant. 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. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden listens from the gallery at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (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. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS2/FOX28) It is the cold case murder thats haunted the Cedar Rapids area for 35 years. A pathologist said the fatal stab wound was to her heart and that she bled to death. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Then for a verdict. Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. 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. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Curious to see if the suspect in the 1979 Michelle Martinko murder looks anything like this DNA composite. It was a case,Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said, "that has haunted our community for decades. Jerry Lynn Burns' DNA sample was collected from a plastic straw he drank soda with. Police questioned Burns at work in Manchester, Iowa where he denied killing Martinko. Because this moment has finally come. The third brother was Jerry Lynn Burns (Burns), the defendant in this case. 'Shock, anguish and horror permeated the family them they first learned that 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed Dec. 19, 1979, John Stonebraker, her brother-in-law, said Friday in a videotaped victim impact statement. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. pic.twitter.com/COPUDpaDMP, Cedar Rapids Police (@CR_Police) December 20, 2018. Detectives found no weapon or fingerprints to identify a suspect and said Martinko had not been robbed. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. He was born in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. They then used genealogical data as well as a covertly collected DNA sample from Burns to positively identify him, authorities said. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@dmreg.com or on Twitter @TDavisDMR. Predictions were made for ancestry and facial features, police said. Stills of news coverage comes from Fox 28 and KCRG.
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