He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. And I went 'bingo'.". [2], Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953[13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. They then used genealogical data as well as a covertly collected DNA sample from Burns to positively identify him, authorities said. [1][5] Iowan law mandates a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first degree murder. He said Burns had no memory of being at the crime scene. This revealed everything, and Burns was ultimately declared guilty of first-degree murder. Be the first one to comment on this story. He was around 25 when he killed Martinko in 1979. Jerry Burns, busy back in Minneapolis, wasn't on the guest list that time. [39], Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 04:20, "Michelle Martinko's murder 'haunted' the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Denlinger does NOT believe Burns is responsible for Jodi Huisentruit - rather that he admired/fantasized about whatever happened to her. Offender records are public information pursuant to Section 904.601 (1)Iowa Code (1999). [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. She had looked into the parking lot as she drove by to check for her daughter's car because her daughter worked at the mall and had had car trouble before. 'As far as I know, I wasn't there.. 24. On December 20, 2018, a district judge set his bond at $5 million. Jerry Burns is still behind bars on a $5 million cash bond, charged with first-degree murder in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice.". The defense also requested the trial be moved out of Linn County based on the amount of attention the case had received over the past four decades, as well as "pervasive and prejudicial pretrial publicity". See Photos. Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. UPDATE: Trial set for Iowa man accused in 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko . 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. Lighthouse: The Dark Being, a group of 43 people. She was stabbed 29 times in the face, neck, and chest. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. [23] Out of more than 80 potential suspects that had been identified over the years, more than 60 people were tested and cleared of suspicion. While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. Jerry's hobbies included working on vehicles, hunting, fishing, racing cars, gardening, and working in the yard. He then contacted a member of a third branch, and a DNA test determined that they were first cousins with the killer. Thank you!! "I did not see this day coming," Franzman said on a broadcast this week. The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. [36][37], On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Burns seemed to have a 'fetish for these violent, sexual themes, Cedar Rapids police Investigator Jeff Holst testified. To learn the entire story of Michelle Martinko's murder, watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79. Jerry Burns, of Manchester, is led into a courtroom at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport for closing arguments in his murder trial in February 2020. His first wife, Patricia, died by suicide in 2008. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. The case had remained a mystery for 39 years until police say new DNA genealogy technology identified Burns' DNA at the scene. 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. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). This is what eventually helped authorities identify the culprit - Jerry Lynn Burns. At the time of the murder, Burns was 25 and lived in Manchester, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 5 Authorities said Burns was last seen at his 1381 180th St. residence in Delaware County on Thursday, December 19 . He began working with Parabon NanoLabs, now a leading company helping police solve crimes through genetic tracing. Michelle Martinko, pictured in a photo released by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, was stabbed to death in December 1979. Burns denied any involvement in the murder. [2][16] At 2a.m., since Martinko had still not returned home, her father reported her missing. 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. Martinko then went to the mall alone, carrying $180 and intending to finalize the purchase of a new winter coat that was on layaway. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. 28, 2021 7:50 am611d ago, Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Mar. Burns pleaded not guilty at his February 2020 trial but the jury deliberated just three hours and returned a guilty verdict. ", First published on November 6, 2020 / 8:47 AM. 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 Delaware County Sheriff's Office says Brian Burns remains an active missing person case but, at this point, has no link to his cousin. At the time of his arrest, Burns ran a powder-coating business called, Advanced Coating Concepts. Thirty-nine years to the day after she was killed, a suspect was charged thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. "I read the article and it talked about genetic genealogy. Parabon. [7] Martinko was the younger of two daughters of Albert F. Martinko and Janet Martinko (ne Zillig). Cellmate recounts multiple outbursts in Jerry Burns murder trial, The Christmas Project is back raising money for local non-profits, 3-year-old Cedar Rapids child confirmed dead from accidental drowning, The Carson King saga, a legendary Iowa tale of giving back, Active police investigation in Cedar Rapids, SIX MONTHS LATER: Derecho cleanup, recovery, replanting continues, Hawkeyes roll by North Carolina A&T 112-71. [20], On June 19, 1980, police released a composite sketch of a man believed to have killed Martinko, which they formed from descriptions provided by two witnesses under hypnosis. When the detectives first investigated this case, they thought of the homicide as being personal in nature - based on the 10 stab wounds . [2] The police received more than 100 tips following the release of the new images. Martinko then asked another acquaintance to go to the mall with her; that friend said yes at first but later changed her mind. [28] The defense also requested that evidence pertaining to Burns' cell phone browser history be suppressed. 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. Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. Although Burns's arrest in the Martinko case raised questions about the two incidents, police do not believe Burns was involved in either one. Holst said that in reviewing Burns' computer, he found hundreds of searches and website visits - a pattern that happened several times a week. Hernando . [6] In September 2020, Burns filed a notice of appeal. An obituary for Burns' wife, Patricia, says that she died in June 2008 at the age of 55 . Works at Target Distribution Center. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH). 2. Ken and Don were not a match but Jerry Burns' DNA was a match, to an almost perfect scientific certainty. What began to turn the case around was the emergence of DNA as a forensic tool for crime fighting in the late 1990s. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. . 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. After her parents reported her missing at 2 a.m., police discovered the teen's body in her vehicle about four hours later. 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. "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 will raise two . Prosecutors played a covertly recorded interview that investigators conducted with Jerry Lynn Burns in December of 2018. [32] Prosecutors also played a video of a police interview of Burns, in which he denied being at the crime scene on the night of Martinko's murder, and could not explain how his DNA had been found at the scene. In 2012, while serving a life sentence for an unrelated attack, the man died in prison from colon cancer. A DNA profile was developed from that evidence and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were found. Updated Sep 20, 2022 at 3:27pm. Accountability doled out to suspects. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Michelle Martinko, 18, was stabbed to death in a mall parking lot in Dec. 1979. [11] As the investigation dwindled, a $10,000 reward was offered for information that would lead police to the killer. Denlinger had found the needle in the haystack. Police looked at numerous suspects during the initial investigation, including a man who raped a woman at knifepoint and later died while in prison for that crime, but DNA testing ruled him out. He said he thought Burns might have a 'conscience.. [12], In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to create additional images of the killer based solely on DNA clues about facial appearance and ancestry. He asked Burns for a sample of his DNA, but Burns said no - not without an attorney. JERRY LYNN BURNS, Defendant-Appellant. Burns is accused of murdering Michelle Martinko in 1979. Burns originally refuted every charge of involvement in this crime during interrogation by claiming he was unable to provide the authorities with a "plausible explanation" for why his DNA was found at the crime site. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin . Convicted murderer Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, 18. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Bryan. 20-1150). Jerry Burns on Trial AP Jerry Burns of Manchester, Iowa, is led into the courtroom during closing arguments for his trial at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. 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