Did you listen to the DNA: ID episode on the Martinko case? In fact, his father Harvey, now 85, had been one of the original officers on the case 40 years earlier. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? 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. 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. We would also like to extend our sympathy to the Martinko family.. [3] The brothers were placed under surveillance, and investigators began to attempt to collect their DNA secretly. Feb. 1, 2019 | The Des Moines Register. He said Burns had no memory of being at the crime scene. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. Hernando . 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. Gerald Edward "Jake" Merriner, 92, of Jane Lew passed away on Monday, February 27, 2023 in the Stonewall Jackson Hospital. Identities returned to Does. Detectives considered charging the Commissioner with failure to pass along the information to police, but no charges were pursued. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. 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. 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. 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. Parabon. 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. The judge ordered a $5 million cash bond, and Burns is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28. Cedar Rapids police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, on Wednesday morning and charged him with first-degree murder - 39 years to the day after the killing 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was stabbed . And the crucial link is a man named Jerry Burns. 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. "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. "Hmm, strange," Burns responded when Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matthew Denlinger told him he was a suspect for Martinko's death. An obituary for Burns' wife, Patricia, says that she died in June 2008 at the age of 55 . He was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The defense brought only one witness, a self-described forensic DNA consultant, who testified on the possibility that police could have mishandled the evidence. [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. [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. ), Press J to jump to the feed. 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. Janelle Stonebraker, Michelle's older sister, thinks that by fighting so vehemently that the suspect wounded himself and left his DNA behind, Michelle contributed to the investigation into her own murder. Even though the police were tipped over 200 times in the weeks following the murder, the case eventually grew cold as investigations stretched on. CEDAR RAPIDS - Police investigators couldn't find evidence that Jerry Burns and Michelle Martinko knew each other. The family of the man suspected of murdering Michelle Martinko 39 years ago said the arrest came "as a complete shock.". 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. Questions have been raised as to whether Jerry was involved in any other murders or missing person cases. In 2018, the company entered the DNA data from the case into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match. When the detectives first investigated this case, they thought of the homicide as being personal in nature - based on the 10 stab wounds . She was stabbed multiple times in the face, neck, and chest. Jerry's hobbies included working on vehicles, hunting, fishing, racing cars, gardening, and working in the yard. People around him considered him to be a professional but everything fizzled out shortly after. In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. 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. Her case went cold for decades until DNA testing finally brought her family some peace and put her murderer behind bars. ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report. 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. family - he had 3 kids - tough to sneak away for 4 hours when you have kids unless he was on a business trip. Mail, proper postage prepaid, addressed to Jerry L. Burns, No. [1][5][6], Michelle Marie Martinko (October 6, 1961 December 19, 1979) was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the time of his arrest, Burns ran a powder-coating business called, Advanced Coating Concepts. Last . Police sent the blood samples to CODIS the nationwide data base of DNA collected from arrested offenders but didn't get a hit. Teen Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death in 1979. "So it doesn't matter that they haven't had their DNA tested through another arrest or crime scene, we don't need their DNA. [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][16] At 2a.m., since Martinko had still not returned home, her father reported her missing. JERRY LYNN BURNS, Defendant-Appellant. Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953 [13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. An investigator with the Cedar Rapids police department contacted DNA-tested members of two of the branches of the family tree, and eliminated those branches as containing the killer. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. 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. 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. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. This revealed everything, and Burns was ultimately declared guilty of first-degree murder. Head coach Jerry Burns of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during a 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1989. . Jerry Lynn Burns will raise two . [10][11] She was also a talented performer, joined the twirling squad as a sophomore, and performed in choirs and theater productions. Burns has hired a very high profile attorney and has said he plans to appeal his conviction, which was very largely based on the DNA evidence. 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. Her mother, Janet, died in 1998. Sonny arrives at his restaurant and gives Dex, who is there, the night off. And he had the daunting task of trying to figure out who that could be, armed only with an unidentified sample of blood DNA. You have permission to edit this article. [34], On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first degree murder of Michelle Martinko. 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. Denlinger interviewed Burns at his business. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The DNA was uploaded to the law enforcement database called Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, but investigators never found a match, police said. Bryan. In 2006, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was tipped with an update. [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. The victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko. See Photos. "Do I look like that?" Please logout and login again. Doris Homerline Clower died Saturday . Anthony Rex officiating. But detectives had been stymied. Allison, who's being . It wasn't until decades after the killing that investigators began to link the emotions of a motive with the science of DNA. Over 40 years ago, teenager Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death outside a mall in Cedar Rapids . In her ruling, Judge Fae Hoover said the . [2] That narrowed the suspects down to a set of three brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. wife was deter mined to be a distant cousi n to many of the Subject's more . [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. 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. 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. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. Investigators placed the three brothers under surveillance in an attempt to covertly collect their DNA, according to The Gazette. 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 . The Vikings organization is mourning the loss of the innovator, colorful . A hearing over whether to allow the evidence at trial continued Thursday for a second day. Jerry Lynn Burns (defendant-appellant), which is before the Iowa Supreme Court. Wednesday, March 1, 2023: Today on General Hospital, Obrecht is furious with both Liz and Scott, Finn offers to stand by Liz, and Sonny and Dex bond over a meal. The video of that is on YouTube and is mentioned around the 25:28 mark. timing. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Dex, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa Martinko 39 ago. 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