He is survived by his wife, Lydia Lynn; his oldest son, Scott Lynn; and his ch Vikings Ring of Honor Coach Jerry Burns passed away Wednesday at the age of 94. While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. 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. Burns told the investigator about 25 times to test him, Denlinger said. On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. See Photos. Court documents said blood on clothing worn by Martinko and a blood stain on the gear shift of the car, where the teens body was discovered, were analyzed and found to belong to someone else. . [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. Parabon. In late June of 1995, Jodi Huisentruit, a young anchor at KIMT television in Mason City, Iowa, disappeared from the parking lot of her apartment building on the way to work, never to be seen again. He was born on December 09, 1952 to Harold Eugene and Virginia Burns in Osceola, Arkansas. 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. [3] The brothers were placed under surveillance, and investigators began to attempt to collect their DNA secretly. On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and . 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. 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 . But by 2 a.m., her father called the police because she had not returned home. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. He grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. Denlinger recorded him using a camera that was hidden inside a coffee mug. He was around 25 when he killed Martinko in 1979. At the time of his arrest, Burns ran a powder-coating business called, Advanced Coating Concepts. 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. [26] When the DNA sample was tested, it matched the blood sample found at the crime scene. And the crucial link is a man named Jerry Burns. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. Police sent the blood samples to CODIS the nationwide data base of DNA collected from arrested offenders but didn't get a hit. Jerry Lynn Burns' DNA sample was collected from a plastic straw he drank soda with. After tracing the suspect's family tree, investigators zeroed in on Burns, covertly collected his DNA and sent it to a lab for analysis, according to Moore and Jerman. [24], In 2018, the DNA phenotyping company took the data they had collected the year before and entered it into GEDmatch, a public genealogy website that has been used by law enforcement to solve other cold cases, most famously that of the Golden State Killer. Ha ha. The defense team for . Denlinger then told him he had a search warrant for his DNA. Exactly 39 years after Michelle Martinko's body was found, DNA evidence led to the arrest of a Manchester man who was charged with her 1979 murder. [16] Another rumor emerged that a second stabbing had happened in the following days and that police were keeping it secret, which police denied. Cutting-edge DNA technology was used to solve the cold case. On December 19, 2018, he was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, on the 39th anniversary of Michelle's death. 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. The Cedar Rapids teenager was found stabbed to death in her parents car parked at Westdale Mall. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The black dress Michelle Martinko was wearing when she was murdered was sent to the lab for testing. Michelle Marie Martinko Find-A-Grave: Michelle Marie Martinko Iowa Cold Cases: Michelle Marie Martinko Michelle Martinko stories 40 years later: What we know about Michelle Martinko and the arrest that re-opened the cold case Jury seated in Jerry Burns murder trial Michelle Martinko murder case evidence photos Iowa Teen Was Fatally Stabbed in Mall Parking Lot Burns seemed to have a 'fetish for these violent, sexual themes, Cedar Rapids police Investigator Jeff Holst testified. Just before his arrest, Burns, unsolicited, mentioned the name of missing Iowa anchor Jodi Huisentruit as he was being questioned about the Martinko case. On Dec. 19, 1979, Michelle Martinko, 18, left a school banquet and drove her family's car to the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to buy a winter coat, Cedar Rapids police said. During this difficult time and as the justice system runs its course we ask that our privacy be respected.. See Photos. Offender records are public information pursuant to Section 904.601 (1)Iowa Code (1999). 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. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. Allison, who's being held on drug charges in Linn County, says the two played the card game pinochle often. Burns coached the Minnesota Vikings from 1986-91. [9] Martinko was found inside collapsed over the passenger seat and stabbed to death. Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953 [13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. His hands and arms were also examined for scars possibly left by the assumed cut sustained during the attack. He was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. [30] The doctor who performed Martinko's autopsy and investigators in the original case, all now retired, took the stand to testify to how the investigation was conducted, and to Martinko's cause of death. Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. But he said he and another investigator had no plans to arrest Burns that day. [2][3][4] Burns was arrested and, on February 24, 2020, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Martinko. This allows police to create a much larger family tree than databases like CODIs. Denlinger told him authorities would come back to talk to him after they got the results of the DNA test. "Hmm, strange," Burns responded when Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matthew Denlinger told him he was a suspect for Martinko's death. He was born in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. [25] He refused to voluntarily provide a sample of DNA, but was compelled to do so with a search warrant. Hi! "I was speechless," Denlinger says, recalling the moment the lab told him the results. The lab determined that the DNA collected from Burns was a match to DNA from the blood found on Michelle Martinko's clothing and was consistent with the DNA profile developed from blood found elsewhere in the car, Jerman said. 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. This is what eventually helped authorities identify the culprit - Jerry Lynn Burns. 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. Her friend declined. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. [2] That narrowed the suspects down to a set of three brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. Investigators used the blood samples to develop a partial male DNA profile. Yeah, it's really really good! Jerry Burns. A article mentioned that the police found his Internet search history had stuff like 'murder, rape, harm of blonde women'. And I went 'bingo'.". The hearing will continue in Linn County District Court, though a date has not been set. [14] Burns's cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on December 19, 2013 and has not been found. In 2006, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was tipped with an update. ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. [2][5] Her hands bore defensive wounds, which police said to indicate that she had fought back against her killer. She will be remembered as a wonderful mother and wife, loving to spend time with her granddaughter . "[2] When asked if he had killed someone that night in 1979, Burns repeatedly told investigators, "Test the DNA". I don't exactly remember what happened, seen something about Jodi Huisentruit recently.". Be the first one to comment on this story. 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. [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. Jerry Burns . [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. Identities returned to Does. In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently being held at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. Attorneys for Jerry Burns, convicted of the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, are continuing to fight DNA evidence they say the trial court erred in not supressing. Burns pleaded not guilty at his February 2020 trial but the jury deliberated just three hours and returned a guilty verdict. Jerry Burns may be a hitched man, having a . The police used the information to create a partial DNA profile. Parabon made predictions for "ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape," police said, and the department released the composite images to the public in May 2017. timing. Her case went cold for decades until DNA testing finally brought her family some peace and put her murderer behind bars. Denlinger said they were uploaded to GEDmatch by Parabon NanoLabs, a private company the department worked with. Burns said when presented with the rendering. 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. When the police executed a search warrant for Burns home and office, they found a computer search history that included blonde females, assault, rape, strangulation, murder, abuse and rape of a deceased individual, and cannibalism.. 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! 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. 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. The similarities were eerie two pretty, young women, both meeting their final fate in parking lots in Iowa, 16 years apart, in cases that went unsolved for decades. Convicted murderer Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, 18. According to Reusse, Burns would generally be a bit more careful with his language during a press conference or whenever there were cameras . 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. 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.. Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested in October 2018 for the murder of Michelle Martinko, that took place 39 years prior. Jerry Lynn Burns appeared in Linn County this morning on a video monitor from jail where he had his bail set at $5 million. I've been reading up on this case and was wondering if they profiled this guy? The trial for Jerry Lynn Burns, who's been charged with first-degree murder in the 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko, will begin at 9 a.m. Oct. 14 at Linn County Courthouse, according to online court records and the Des Moines Register. See Photos. Her mother, Janet, died in 1998. I miss all her singing and her beautiful music. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). [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. In 2012, while serving a life sentence for an unrelated attack, the man died in prison from colon cancer. At the time of arrest, Burns had his own power-coating company called Advanced Coating Concepts. jerry lynn burns defendant-appellant. 20-1150 APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY HONORABLE FAE E. HOOVER . Months before his February . In October 2018, an investigator was able to snag a straw used by one of the three brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, and tested it against the sample, getting a match. His cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on the 19th of December 2013. To learn the entire story of Michelle Martinko's murder, watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79. Visitation with the family will be Monday April 10th from 4 to 8 PM and on. The case was appealed and was eventually decided by the Iowa Supreme Court in favor of the mall owners. During the trials, Burns was found to contradict his own statements. After Burns arrest, several viewers questioned whether Burns could be a suspect in the death of his wife, Patricia, in 2008. Last . CEDAR RAPIDS - Police investigators couldn't find evidence that Jerry Burns and Michelle Martinko knew each other. After her parents reported her missing at 2 a.m., police discovered the teen's body in her vehicle about four hours later. But he never asked for an attorney, Denlinger said. They also played a later recording, after Burns' arrest, in which Burns questioned whether he could have blocked out the memory of committing the crime.[30]. Hi all - I discuss the case of Michelle Martinko, who was murdered in 1979 in Iowa, this week on DNA: ID podcast. [36][37], On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. [2] The police received more than 100 tips following the release of the new images. Your login session has expired. Martinko's father Albert and mother Janet died in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Hi all - I discuss the case of Michelle Martinko, who was murdered in 1979 in Iowa, this week on DNA: ID podcast. 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. When Burns disposed of the straw, the investigator collected it and tested it for DNA. 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. Burns is accused of killing Cedar Rapids teenager Michelle Martinko in 1979. Burns was born in Manchester, Iowa in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. The new technique, started this year with the "Golden State Killer," has identified over two dozen suspects. However, the case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on. The murder was closely followed within her community, and the police received more than 200 tips in the weeks following her killing. Born in 1953, Jerry Lynn Burns grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. Authorities pored over 300 pages of internet search terms and 400 pages of website history, according to court testimony Thursday - almost all of it involving blonde females and most web searches starting with queries about blonde strangulation. Denlinger said he intentionally chose that day to interview Burns because it was the anniversary of Martinko's death. Jerry was married to his second wife at the time of his arrest. Burns' attorney, Leon Spies, also argued in his suppression motion that the computer evidence is irrelevant because it's from 2018 - 38 years after Martinko's death. Burns is being held at the Linn County jail on a $5 million cash-only bond. 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