Until now, Stonebraker said. The third brother was Jerry Lynn Burns (Burns), the defendant in this case. (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. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. I feel bad for the victims family becausetheyve been wondering every day of their life what happened to their daughter," Russ Wright, who served Burns nearly every day at a local BP gas station, said last December. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. 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. 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. Detectives found no weapon or fingerprints to identify a suspect and said Martinko had not been robbed. Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. Michelle Martinko had planned to attend Iowa State University before her death in 1979. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) listen to Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. ", Elizabeth Laymon, who was high school friends with Martinko, said shevividly remembersthe day classmates sobbed after they learned of the stabbing. 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. While that tip did not yield any new leads, it did cause Det. William Brangham, Nsikan Akpan He was arrested Dec. 19, 2018 - on the anniversary of her death. Here's the Update in His Case. He didn't know who or why. But he also said his private investigator had uncovered new evidence that wasn't discovered until June. ", 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.". It was almost like a dream. He also said it was difficult to believe that law enforcement never came across such information in the nearly 40 years of investigation. Heretrievedit after Burns left it behind, according to search warrants. (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. She was 18 years old. Martinko's body was found in her parents' Buick, which was parked near J.C. Penney at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. DAVENPORT, Ia. Jerry Lynn Burns: Offender Number: 6931989: Sex: M: Birth Date: 12/23/1953: Location: Anamosa State Penitentiary: Offense: MURDER 1ST DEGREE: TDD/SDD * LIFE: Commitment Date: 08/14/2020: Recall Date: Mandatory Minimum (if applicable) * TDD = Tentative Discharge Date * SDD = Supervision Discharge Date She uploaded them to a free public DNA database to find out more about her dad's side of the family. More:Iowa community tries to reconcile a cold case arrest and its long history with a neighbor. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. At the time of his arrest, Burns had beenliving in Manchester, a town of about 5,000 people 45 minutes north of Cedar Rapids, for longer than Martinko's case had been cold. 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. That decision essentially erases the genetic privacy of everyone else. Spies argued that if the defense had this evidence at trial, jurors might have come back with a different verdict. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. William Brangham is a correspondent and producer for PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. His trial is set for Oct. 14 in Linn County District Court. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. 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. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Jerry Burns sentenced to life for killing Michelle Martinko in 1979 Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Because this moment has finally come. Burns is facing charges of first-degree murder and will make his first appearance in Linn County Court on December 20, police said. 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. Martinko's father Albert and mother Janet died in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Police said they were able to connect Burns to the case with DNA evidence. I don't know why this upsets people. She was stabbed and killed 39 yrs ago today in the Westdale Mall parking lot. ", "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. Jerry Lynn Burns (64) was arrested 12/19/2018 and faces first-degree murder charges. After the verdict was read and court was adjourned, they stood and embraced as Martinko's friends around them wept. If they could see some of the e-mails from these families that have had some closure, I can't imagine that anyone would say it's the wrong thing to do. Burns argues the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress where the warrantless extraction of his DNA profile violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. "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. Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. An hour before announcing Burns arrest, police in Cedar Rapids tweeted that there had been a major development in Martinkos murder. Plus, he made these grisly, violent low-budget films. I didn't have a close relationship with my dad, so maybe to find some family members and just kind of learn about his side, you know? Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. The deadline for responses from the state or a date for a hearing before a judgehas not been set yet. In 2006, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was tipped with an update. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was 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. Police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, on Wednesday morning in the decades-old fatal stabbing. 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. GUILTY - IA - Michelle Martinko, 18, stabbed to The investigator reported Birky said the lessons were once a week; although she wasn't sure which day of the week they were, she recalled the last lesson was the night Martinko was killed outside the mall. People around him considered him to be a professional but everything fizzled out shortly after. Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested 39 years after killing Michelle Martinko (Image via Youtube) Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested in October 2018 for the This is part of our regular series on the Leading Edge of science and technology. "She finally got justice. 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. 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. But not everyone is so eager to have their DNA end up in a police dragnet. However, in 2006, a tip came into the Cedar Rapids police department. 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. 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. Nsikan Akpan, Rhana Natour After her death, authorities described Martinkos murder as personal in nature. Police also said that Martinko had defensive wounds, indicating that she had tried to fight her killer. Now,herface and chest had been stabbed at least eight times. Burns sentencing is likely to be scheduled for early April, though a date has notbeen set, District Judge Fae Hoover said. William Brangham: Turns out the murderer was a distant, distant relative of Genetic genealogy can help solve cold cases. accused of killing Michelle Martinko begins hearing He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently being held at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. The family never gave up hope that this case would be solved. Burns is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Michelle Martinko in 1979. Martinko always came to her lessons alone but may have had someone waiting for her outside the mall. She can be contacted at aspoerre@dmreg.com, 515-284-8387or on Twitter at@annaspoerre. According to KWWL, at the sentencing, Stonebaker said that Burns stole those 39 years and many more from a sweet smart, talented girl who never got her chance at college, a career, marriage, children and by now, even grandchildren.. This week in 1979 someone killed Michelle Martinko at Westdale Mall. Police chief believes DNA 'snapshots' were money Of course I want those people, serial killers and murderers and terrible rapists, to be caught. (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. More:DNA leads federal investigators to suspected serial killer in Iowa; Clark Perry Baldwin charged with killing 3 women in 1990s. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. WebJerry Burns, 67 - Manchester | Free Public Reputation Profile Home People Search B IA Manchester Jerry Burns Not the right Jerry Burns? 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. Erin Murphy, New York University School of Law: You can change your phone number if someone starts harassing you. Jerry Lynn Burns' mugshot. When Burns finished eating, he got up and walked out of the restaurant. 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.

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