A article mentioned that the police found his Internet search history had stuff like 'murder, rape, harm of blonde women'. [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. In earlier testimony, Matthew Denlinger, a Cedar Rapids police investigator who testified last week, was recalled to testify about Burns' interview with police Dec. 19, 2018. Burns pleaded not guilty at his February 2020 trial but the jury deliberated just three hours and returned a guilty verdict. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. 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. 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 . Grab your popcorn & get comfy as we dive into some dusty old cases revitalized thanks to genetic genealogy (& a bit of good ol' fashioned detective work! "Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case," reported by "48 Hours" contributor Jamie Yuccas, airs on Saturday, August 7 at 9/8c on CBS. Mason City police won't disclose whether or not they are now looking at Jerry Burns as a suspect in that case. This revealed everything, and Burns was ultimately declared guilty of first-degree murder. Denlinger had to consider that Michelle could have been murdered by a stranger. He was born in Hundred, WV on April 24, 1930, a son of the late Robert Lee and Rebecca Taylor Merriner. The company created a family tree starting with four sets of the woman's great-great-grandparents and reported that the killer was most likely descended from one of those couples. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. [11], In the mid-1980s, Martinko's father filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Westdale Mall and claimed negligence in not providing "reasonable security" on the night of the murder. After several trials and errors, the suspects were narrowed down to three brothers who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. More than 40 years after Jerry Lynn Burns stabbed Michelle Martinko to death, a family and a community has closure. Dave Franzman, a longtime reporter at ABC Cedar Rapids affiliate KCRG, even covered the case at the time of Michelle Martinko's killing. 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. She was a beautiful singer, and I miss all this. Visitation will be held from 5 wife was deter mined to be a distant cousi n to many of the Subject's more . [8][9] She attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was an above average student and well regarded by school officials. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and . I like that it's just the facts and case without anyone trying (poorly) to be a comedian or talk about their own personal nonsense lol. Jerry Burns is still behind bars . Jerry Lynn Burns is pictured in a booking photo released by the Linn County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 20, 2018. It wasn't until decades after the killing that investigators began to link the emotions of a motive with the science of DNA. "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. He may be one of the relatively rare "one and done" killers that we have learned about now that we have vastly improved DNA analysis technology. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. The images looked considerably different from the 1980 composite sketch and showed a man with blond hair and blue eyes. As reported by CBS News, Burns was not arrested until 2018, when DNA evidence confirmed he was responsible for Martinko's death. KWQC Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. ", Whoever the killer was, he had come prepared. Her killer will go undetected for almost 40yrs! [11] They described a white man in his late teens or early 20s, around six feet tall and weighing 165175 pounds, with brown eyes and curly brown hair. Investigators say Martinko was murdered on December 19th, 1979 and her body found the next day in a family car in the Westdale Mall parking lot. Burns told the investigator about 25 times to test him, Denlinger said. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. Accountability doled out to suspects. Police sent the blood samples to CODIS the nationwide data base of DNA collected from arrested offenders but didn't get a hit. 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. Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. Powered by. You have permission to edit this article. 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. He and his wife, who now reside in Florida, said they . Burns' defense team objected to the wording of one of the prosecution's questions, which they claimed implied unequivocally that Burns' blood had been at the scene. Burns' wife, Patricia, died by suicide in . They then started to locate all the people that they had originally interviewed in the investigation and collected DNA samples from over 100 different people. They . JERRY M. LYNN "Bear" Crown Point, Indiana Jerry M. "Bear" Lynn, age 59, of Crown Point, IN passed away on April 4, 2010. When asked that question by "48 Hours," Denlinger replied, "I don't know the answer to that. Dave Franzman, a longtime reporter at ABC Cedar Rapids affiliate KCRG, Michelle Martinko's high school friend, Elizabeth Laymon, told The Des Moines Register. He was also ordered to pay $150,00 in restitution to Martinkos estate, according to KWWL. Jerry retired from the Army National Guard and retired as a Master Plumber. The new technique, started this year with the "Golden State Killer," has identified over two dozen suspects. 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. Denlinger said they went to Burns' business, Advanced Powder Coating Concepts in Manchester, and he agreed to talk with them. 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. Rumors began to circulate about the crime. 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. Burns kept pointing to the swab, he testified, and saying, 'Test it. "I did not see this day coming," Franzman said on a broadcast this week. Investigators placed the three brothers under surveillance in an attempt to covertly collect their DNA, according to The Gazette. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. But the jury found the DNA connection convincing and after a nine-day trial, Burns was convicted of first-degree murder. Her father died in 1995 and her mother died in 1998. I couldnt have said it better myself, and Im the podcaster! He would have been around 25-years-old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December of 1979. 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. A DNA profile was developed from that evidence and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were found. I just began listening to the DNA:ID podcast. Convicted murderer Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, 18. CEDAR RAPIDS - Police investigators couldn't find evidence that Jerry Burns and Michelle Martinko knew each other. Jerry Lynn Burns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. The trial was then moved to February 2020. "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice.". The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. [7] Eventually, more than 125 people would have their DNA swabbed and compared against samples taken from the scene. The police considered the murder personal in nature based on the manner of death, according to Little Village magazine. Visitation with the family will be Monday April 10th from 4 to 8 PM and on. Authorities said Burns was last seen at his 1381 180th St. residence in Delaware County on Thursday, December 19 . 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. Currently, in his late 60s, he is going to spend the rest of his days behind bars. [18][19], Controversy arose five months after the murder, after a woman who was driving by the mall parking lot in the early hours of December 20 came forward with information. Did you listen to the DNA: ID episode on the Martinko case? Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953 [13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. This narrowed down the possible suspects to three brothers - Ken, Don, and Jerry Burns. Find your friends on Facebook. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. Visitation for Jim will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023 from 4:00PM until 6:00PM at the Peacock Family Chapel. After the arrest this week of Jerry Burns in the 1979 killing of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko, an Iowa city is left shocked, saddened, and skeptical. 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. Denlinger interviewed Burns at his business. [26] When the DNA sample was tested, it matched the blood sample found at the crime scene. Burns' wife, Patricia . Last week, a police investigator explained how using a public genealogy database - called GEDmatch - led to Burns being identified as a match to the DNA evidence found on Martinko's dress and gearshift of her car, where her body was found Dec. 20, 1979. State prosecutors also showed a video interview they secretly recorded in 2018, after matching Burns' DNA to the crime scene and getting a search warrant to obtain further DNA. Familial matches let them narrow down the suspect list to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa. During the trials, Burns was found to contradict his own statements. We need somebody from their family to have tested in order to resolve these cases.". "Well, I kind of think you do a little bit," Denlinger responded in the video interview. The judge ordered a $5 million cash bond, and Burns is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28. The case got nationwide media attention but has remained an unsolved mystery for more than 25 years. Yet they had a DNA match linking the Manchester man to the Cedar Rapids teenager, slain in 1979 outside the Westdale Mall. The Vikings organization is mourning the loss of the innovator, colorful . Then in 2018, DNA phenotyping company GEDmatch, a public genealogy website that famously helped catch the Golden State Killer, started creating a family tree based on the killers DNA. . Burns has hired a very high profile attorney and has said he plans to appeal his conviction, which was very largely . 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. At the time of the murder, Burns was 25 and lived in Manchester, Iowa. Questions have been raised as to whether Jerry was involved in any other murders or missing person cases. Glad you are liking it! 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 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". In 2017, Cedar Rapids police said they reached out to Parabon NanoLabs to help build a suspect profile based on the crime scene DNA. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder. On December 19, 2018, he was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, on the 39th anniversary of Michelle's death. [1][5] Iowan law mandates a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first degree murder. Murderer Jerry Lynn Burns was not caught for almost 40 years. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Police interviewed numerous people, and several were cleared of suspicion through use of a polygraph. Through the use of advanced technologies, DNA samples from the offender were obtained. Jerry Lynn Burns faces a first degree murder charge in the killing of Michelle Martinko. 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. Definitely fascinating! Ha ha. 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. [4] Documents concluded that fewer than one in 100 billion people would match the DNA profile. Through his research, he discovered that a woman named Brandy Jennings had uploaded her DNA to a website service to trace her own family history. He entered a plea of not guilty. I hope you enjoy it!! The detective, Denlinger, told me that he believes Jerry Burns has been reliving the murder in his fantasies ever since, but they have never been able to tie him to any other homicides. But he said he and another investigator had no plans to arrest Burns that day. 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 unsure her information would be of any use because she had read that the murder happened between 10p.m. and midnight, and it was 2a.m. when she drove by. 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. [14] Burns's cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on December 19, 2013 and has not been found. At the time of his arrest, Burns ran a powder-coating business called, Advanced Coating Concepts. Last . 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. "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. A hearing over whether to allow the evidence at trial continued Thursday for a second day. Add newsletters@thegazette.comto your contacts. Dr. Obrecht Learns if She's a Bone Marrow Match for Willow Plus, Nikolas' Whereabouts Are Revealed. He grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. This really is an excellent true crimes podcast that is different from the many others that are being produced. He is survived by his wife, Lydia Lynn; his oldest son, Scott Lynn; and his ch While being questioned about . 1, 2021 3:52 pm608d ago, Caleb McCullough Health Care and Medicine Jun. 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. or. At long last, in 2018, Jerry Lynn was caught and blamed for the teen's manslaughter and, in spite of the fact that it had been a very long time after the wrongdoing, the once cool case is right now a subject of discussion on A&E's executioner cases. jerry lynn burns defendant-appellant. LEON SPIES: The state's scenario here is that Jerry Burns, a married man with two young children at home, leaves, drives to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the night, leaving his wife and children behind . [10] She wore a black jersey dress and black scarf, black tights and heels, and a waist-length white and brown rabbit fur jacket, and she carried a brown leather purse. "[2] When asked if he had killed someone that night in 1979, Burns repeatedly told investigators, "Test the DNA". Please logout and login again. 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. Jerry Lynn Burns is accused of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The victim was the younger of two daughters of Albert and Janet Martinko. 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