According to the investigator, "Burns showed almost no emotion during the interview, even when he was eventually told he was being arrested. After weeks pursuing a wide range of possible blood relatives, Parabon helped him narrow the search down to three middle-aged brothers in Iowa who would have been young men back in 1979: Ken, Don and Jerry Burns. Burns coached the Minnesota Vikings from 1986-91. 'A complete shock': Family of suspect in Martinko murder releases statement, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. Jerry Lynn Burns will be in prison for the rest of his days. The Delaware County Sheriff said it did review the case after Burns' arrest and "feels that was clearly the case.". Suspect in Martinko murder not suspected in wife's death or cousin's disappearance, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. KWQC [2] A police spokesman said that "everyone's instinct is to say it was a guy", but they were not sure of the sex of the killer. "Do I look like that?" 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. In her ruling, Judge Fae Hoover said the . Mason City police won't disclose whether or not they are now looking at Jerry Burns as a suspect in that case. During this time, according to the testimony, he made a reference to 'blacking out but didn't explain it. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. He had followed them and secretly recovered their DNA. Later that day, her body was discovered in her family's car. But detectives had been stymied. With genetic genealogy, an unknown killer's DNA from a crime scene can be identified through his or her family members, who voluntarily submit their DNA to a genealogy database. Hi! ", First published on November 6, 2020 / 8:47 AM. Murderer Jerry Lynn Burns was not caught for almost 40 years. The company also produced approximations of how the man would have aged in the years since the crime. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. The results were entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the national DNA database, but no matches were found. His voice was always turned up to full volume. [2], Martinko had been stabbed 29 times in her face, neck, and chest. 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. "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. Lives in Brentwood, Arkansas. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. The police then began procuring evidence secretly. The majority of the search activity and history on Burns' computer was sexually graphic and more 'deviant in nature, said Holst, who investigates sex crimes and internet crimes against children. Updated on: August 4, 2021 / 2:29 PM Police interviewed numerous people, and several were cleared of suspicion through use of a polygraph. Might be nothing, but Jerry has a cousin who went missing in 2013 and it has become a cold case and Jerry's wife committed suicide in 2008. [22][12] From that, police were able to build a partial DNA profile. Burns said when presented with the rendering. [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. 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. A article mentioned that the police found his Internet search history had stuff like 'murder, rape, harm of blonde women'. What began to turn the case around was the emergence of DNA as a forensic tool for crime fighting in the late 1990s. Your login session has expired. Burns denied any involvement in the murder. On April 5, 1975, Pat was united in marriage to Jerry Lynn Burns at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Manchester. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Denlinger does NOT believe Burns is responsible for Jodi Huisentruit - rather that he admired/fantasized about whatever happened to her. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jeff Holst, an investigator with the Cedar Rapids Police Department, looks at a report he made which was entered into evidence as he testifies during the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Jerry Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. [1][5][6], Michelle Marie Martinko (October 6, 1961 December 19, 1979) was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Burns pleaded not guilty at his February 2020 trial but the jury deliberated just three hours and returned a guilty verdict. [2], In 2006, 27 years after Martinko's killing, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department received a tip connected to the case. Pat was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and enjoyed quilting, collecting teddy bears, gardening and farming with her husband. 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. 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. And he said he couldn't talk about it," Michael Allison said, who shared a cell with Burns starting in September 2019. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. "I read the article and it talked about genetic genealogy. "I did not see this day coming," Franzman said on a broadcast this week. Be the first one to comment on this story. May 12, 2021 at 04:20 PM. [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. Jim grew up . Jerry Lynn Burns is accused of the 1979 cold case murder of Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A Felony. 24. She was a beautiful singer, and I miss all this. Denlinger followed each of the brothers around clandestinely, waiting for them to discard an item containing their DNA, and then sent the collected samples to the crime lab. 'If I was there, I don't know, Burns told Denlinger. [2], Martinko's father, Albert, died in 1995. 28, 2021 7:50 am611d ago, Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Mar. County, FL. At the department, Burns sked for a lawyer. 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. [9] She was fully dressed, and the medical examiner determined she had not been sexually assaulted. Visitation will be held from 5 He asked Burns for a sample of his DNA, but Burns said no - not without an attorney. 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. Born in 1953, Jerry Lynn Burns grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. 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 . 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 . The murder was closely followed within her community, and the police received more than 200 tips in the weeks following her killing. Denlinger said he intentionally chose that day to interview Burns because it was the anniversary of Martinko's death. God finally won. 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. "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. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared. [2], Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953[13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. 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. 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. physical distance - it was a 2 hour drive to and from mason city to cedar rapids. KWQC Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. Jerry Burns mentioned Jodi by name while speaking to an investigator shortly before his arrest. I just began listening to the DNA:ID podcast. [25] He refused to voluntarily provide a sample of DNA, but was compelled to do so with a search warrant. Doris Homerline Clower died Saturday . In a press conference during which the new image was shared, a former classmate of Martinko exclaimed that the face looked like another one of their classmates, but that classmate had been investigated and was cleared based on a DNA swab several years before. The medical examiner later determined that she died between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. She had not been robbed or sexually assaulted, and defensive wounds were found on her hands, indicating she fought back. 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. When Denlinger reminded Burns that Michelle had been killed in 1979, Burns responded, "It was a big deal. Burns had previously been married to Patricia Burns, who died in 2008 from suicide. Mail, proper postage prepaid, addressed to Jerry L. Burns, No. According to court documents, a judge has ruled internet search history from the man accused in a 1979 murder will not be able to be used during trial. "Murder at . Martinko's father Albert and mother Janet died in 1995 and 1998 respectively. [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. 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. 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 . Glad you are liking it! Thirty-nine years to the day after she was killed, a suspect was charged thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Joan C. Plum Merriner, who passed away on January 4, 2019. (Supreme Court No. Denlinger interviewed Burns at his business. On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and . Vikings PR. Visitation with the family will be Monday April 10th from 4 to 8 PM and on. The sample was put into a national computer database and was used to clear more than 70 of Martinkos acquaintances, according to NBC News. 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. Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested in the 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko. After reading about the Golden State Killer case in 2018, in which serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo was finally caught through a long trail of DNA, Denlinger had an epiphany: perhaps he could use that same new technique to solve 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. 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