The judge ordered a $5 million cash bond, and Burns is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28. Jerry Burns. The first piece of progress in the case came in 2006 when a sample of the suspect's DNA from Michelle Martinko's car was submitted to a lab for processing, police said. People around him considered him to be a professional but everything fizzled out shortly after. According to Reusse, Burns would generally be a bit more careful with his language during a press conference or whenever there were cameras . Investigators struggled over the years to connect DNA collected at the scene to a suspect. Her father died in 1995 and her mother died in 1998. Jim was born on April 20, 1933 in Walsenburg, Colorado to Geraldine Hudson McAlpine and Victor Paul Hudson and passed away on February 24, 2023 at his home in Amarillo, Texas with his family by his side at the age of 89. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Michelle Martinko, 18, was stabbed to death in a mall parking lot in Dec. 1979. 20-1150 APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY HONORABLE FAE E. HOOVER . The organizations filing the brief contend that the collection of Mr. Burn's DNA without a warrant from a discarded straw he used at a restaurant violated the Fourth Amendment, and article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. 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. "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. This "tragic case" had been "haunting this community for 39 years," Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said Wednesday. And he said he couldn't talk about it," Michael Allison said, who shared a cell with Burns starting in September 2019. [1][5][6], Michelle Marie Martinko (October 6, 1961 December 19, 1979) was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Burns maintained that he did not know Martinko and was not there when she died, although an investigator later testified that Burns did not specifically deny killing Martinko. 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. Burns has hired a very high profile attorney and has said he plans to appeal his conviction, which was very largely . On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder. Burns pleaded not guilty in 2019 and when his trial was supposed to begin in October of that year, his defense team requested additional time to review fresh pieces of evidence and gather witnesses. FILE - In a Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 file photo, Jerry Burns enters the courtroom during the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Burns of Manchester at the Linn County . The results were entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the national DNA database, but no matches were found. When Denlinger reminded Burns that Michelle had been killed in 1979, Burns responded, "It was a big deal. Jerry Burns, busy back in Minneapolis, wasn't on the guest list that time. Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. When Burns disposed of the straw, the investigator collected it and tested it for DNA. He had worked for John Deere and co-owned a truck stop. [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. jerry lynn burns defendant-appellant. The case got nationwide media attention but has remained an unsolved mystery for more than 25 years. Murderer Jerry Lynn Burns was not caught for almost 40 years. On December 20, 2018, a district judge set his bond at $5 million. It goes beyond the simple news reporting of case solved using genetic genealogy. The podcast explores who these perpetrators are, possible motives and features interviews with investigators who are willing to talk because the cases have already been resolved in court. Familial matches let them narrow down the suspect list to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa. [2][4][27], In pretrial hearings, Burns' attorneys claimed that police needed a search warrant to gather his DNA from the discarded straw, but the judge determined that discarded property cannot reasonably be considered private. See Photos. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Derek Chauvin's ex-wife . 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 . [16] Based on cash found in Martinko's purse, police concluded that she had not been robbed. The family of the man suspected of murdering Michelle Martinko 39 years ago said the arrest came "as a complete shock.". He began working with Parabon NanoLabs, now a leading company helping police solve crimes through genetic tracing. Linn. 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. A struggle followed in which Michelle was stabbed and sliced by a knife almost 30 times in a horrific murder that police initially believed had to be a crime of passion. [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 victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko. Denlinger interviewed Burns at his business. In 2018, the company entered the DNA data from the case into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match. 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. 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. "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. . family - he had 3 kids - tough to sneak away for 4 hours when you have kids unless he was on a business trip. Jerry Burns is still behind bars . Oral Argument Schedule. She was seen inside the mall by friends and coworkers because Martinko worked in the mall. KWQC Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. Please logout and login again. [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. [11][18] In the year after the killing, the number of people interviewed by police reached the hundreds, and up to 30 people were interviewed under hypnosis. Denlinger said they were uploaded to GEDmatch by Parabon NanoLabs, a private company the department worked with. But he never asked for an attorney, Denlinger said. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. But detectives had been stymied. Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter. On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Burns is accused of killing Cedar Rapids teenager Michelle Martinko in 1979. And the crucial link is a man named Jerry Burns. 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. He stated that Burns' DNA could have been at the scene due to secondary transfer (such as skin cells transferring to an article of clothing when someone brushes up against another person), although he clarified that it was not his opinion that this was the case with Burns' DNA. In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to produce a new approximation of the killer's appearance based solely off the DNA sample. The defense requested the case be declared a mistrial as a result, but the judge denied the request and asked the prosecutor to rephrase the question. December . The case was solved, but there were lingering questions about Jerry Burns. Visitation for Jim will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023 from 4:00PM until 6:00PM at the Peacock Family Chapel. Police interviewed numerous people, and several were cleared of suspicion through use of a polygraph. Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria, a group of 39 people. [9] She was fully dressed, and the medical examiner determined she had not been sexually assaulted. Her case went cold for decades until DNA testing finally brought her family some peace and put her murderer behind bars. Burns is accused of murdering Michelle Martinko in 1979. 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. Denlinger recorded him using a camera that was hidden inside a coffee mug. During this difficult time and as the justice system runs its course we ask that our privacy be respected.. The murder of Michelle Martinko occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on December 19, 1979. [26] He was not able to provide an explanation for why his DNA would have been present at the crime scene. As reported by CBS News, Burns was not arrested until 2018, when DNA evidence confirmed he was responsible for Martinko's death. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently being held at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. 'As far as I know, I wasn't there.. When asked that question by "48 Hours," Denlinger replied, "I don't know the answer to that. A Felony. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. "I was speechless," Denlinger says, recalling the moment the lab told him the results. Although the tip did not lead to any suspects, the investigator discovered what he believed to be the killer's blood while he was reviewing the case files. [2], Martinko's father, Albert, died in 1995. Add newsletters@thegazette.comto your contacts. 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* On December 19, 2018, he was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, on the 39th anniversary of Michelle's death. [8][9] She attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was an above average student and well regarded by school officials. She thinks this new crime . State of Iowa. Jerry Burns is still behind bars on a $5 million cash bond, charged with first-degree murder in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. Her death was ruled a suicide. Identities returned to Does. [26] When the DNA sample was tested, it matched the blood sample found at the crime scene. 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. "Hmm, strange," Burns responded when Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matthew Denlinger told him he was a suspect for Martinko's death. While the information is believed to be accurate, the Iowa Department of Corrections makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information. Martinko was 18, a senior in high school in 1979, when she was accosted as she was getting into her car on a chilly night in December following a trip to the mall. Later that day, her body was discovered in her family's car. The victim, Martinko, was an 18-year-old high school student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was visiting a mall to buy a winter coat. 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". or. Her mother, Janet, died in 1998. There is no known DNA evidence tying Burns to the Huisentruit case and no evidence that he knew Jodi Huisentruit. 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. What began to turn the case around was the emergence of DNA as a forensic tool for crime fighting in the late 1990s. I just began listening to the DNA:ID podcast. Authorities believe Burns stabbed the Kennedy High School senior in the chest and face inside a car parked at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. 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. 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. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 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. Anthony Rex officiating. 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. Denlinger had found the needle in the haystack. 24. But the jury found the DNA connection convincing and after a nine-day trial, Burns was convicted of first-degree murder. Jerry Lynn Burns (defendant-appellant), which is before the Iowa Supreme Court. My gut tells me there's probably something else out there. Spies asked if he had consent from Burns to take the lunch straw for testing. During the trials, Burns was found to contradict his own statements. This technology helped the FBI arrest notorious serial killer, serial rapist, and burglar Joseph James DeAngelo (nicknamed Golden State Killer) in 2018. Place of rest will be in the Dickson County Memorial Gardens. Denlinger told him authorities would come back to talk to him after they got the results of the DNA test. Sign Up. The murder of Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of Cedar Rapids' Westdale Mall has some eerie connections to the Huisentruit case. Hi all - I discuss the case of Michelle Martinko, who was murdered in 1979 in Iowa, this week on DNA: ID podcast. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. The trial was then moved to February 2020. Allison says Burns threatened him one day after a winning streak. 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. The hearing will continue in Linn County District Court, though a date has not been set. Gerald Edward "Jake" Merriner, 92, of Jane Lew passed away on Monday, February 27, 2023 in the Stonewall Jackson Hospital. 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 . The detective on the case, Matt Denlinger, gave me some interesting details. After Burns arrest, several viewers questioned whether Burns could be a suspect in the death of his wife, Patricia, in 2008. "In a genetic genealogy database we can reverse engineer the [suspect's family] tree from their distant" relatives who have submitted DNA, Moore said. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. Investigators matched DNA found in the car to Jerry Burns and arrested him in 2018. [18], For some time, a prime suspect in Martinko's murder was a man who had, the month before, broken into a Cedar Rapids home, raped a woman at knifepoint, and threatened to kill her children. Mason City police won't disclose whether or not they are now looking at Jerry Burns as a suspect in that case. He testified last week he took the straw after it was discarded. 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. Jerry Lynn Burns appeared in Linn County this morning on a video monitor from jail where he had his bail set at $5 million. Victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko fighting in the death of his wife Patricia! 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