Jerry Lynn Burns (born December 23, 1953 [13]) was 25 years old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December 1979. He grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. Jerry LynnBurns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. 'Killer Cases' Explores His WebBrian Farmer Burns, a 55-year-old Manchester, Iowa farmer, went missing from his Delaware County home on Thursday, December 19, 2013. Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester has been arrested and charged with 1st degree murder in the cold case murder of 18 yr old Michelle Martinko. Police found Martinko's body in her parents' tan 1972 Buick at Cedar Rapids Westdale Mall parking lot around 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, 1979. Prosecutors said she was stabbed to death. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. She was found stabbed to death inside her parents' car in a mall parking lot in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on December 20, 1979. Leclere said Burns was never considered a suspect in his cousin's missing-person investigation. On June 19, 1980, police released a composite sketch, developed based on descriptions provided by two witnesses, of the man they believed stabbed Martinko. Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) listen as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (not pictured) makes arguments on behalf of the state at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The sisters' parents died more than 20 years ago,Albert Martinko in 1995and his wife, Janet, in 1998. Previous to Jerry's current city of Manchester, IA, Jerry Burns lived in Cedar Falls IA. Investigators then narrowed down family trees of great grandparents to a first cousin and then Burns and his two brothers. Decades after the death, he had a voice in the first-degree murder sentencing of Jerry Burns, 66, of Manchester. Jerry Burns, 66, of Manchester, was arrested in Dec. 19 2018, 39 years to the day after Michelle Martinko was found dead in her parents car outside a shopping mall in You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. WebView Jerry Burns results in Marion, IA including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 'When you listen to (Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne) Jerman on the news last night, they've got him (Burns) hung already,' McElliot said. 'I was happy when I heard the case was solved, but it was a punch in the gut to hear it was someone from the community. The accused turned out to be another Iowan native, Jerry Lynn Burns. Who Is Jerry Lynn Burns? Born in 1953, Jerry Lynn Burns grew up in Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. He would have been around 25-years-old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December of 1979. After the verdict was read and court was adjourned, they stood and embraced as Martinko's friends around them wept. Wright said he never had a negative experience in seven months of knowingBurns. "No, I must not have asked properly, we were never instructed in school how to ask..they just seemed to ignore it," said Burns. 1, 2021 3:52 pm607d ago, Caleb McCullough Health Care and Medicine Jun. Hundreds of people were interviewed and countless leads were followed, police said a year after the slaying. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette), Advanced Coating Concepts at 1608 230th Street in Manchester on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. "But the world's a big place and we dont know anything about anybody. According to an affidavit, Birky, in a phone interview with an investigator who works for Spies, said she had been giving organ lessons to Martinko in 1979 at 'Carma Lou's House of Music. Martinko had lessons between 8:30 and 9 p.m., Birky said. Follow reporter Anna Spoerreon Twitter at@annaspoerre. "The community is in shock, his friends are in shock, his family is in shock. Previous coverage:Decades after fatal stabbing, Michelle Martinko's family comes face-to-face with her alleged killer. That made his arrest hard to believe. "Its scary," Moreno said. Follow the Register onFacebookandTwitterfor updates. Notwithstanding the way that Burns conviction and denouncing are clear and he is presently in prison, his legitimate group has continued to insist his blamelessness and upset the choice. Jerry Burns was caught and tended to when his DNA matched that of some found on Martinkos articles of clothing at the hour of her crime. Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. Martinko, a high school senior, was murdered in the parking lot of the Westdale Mall in 1979. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. But with 39-years later, limited information, that's a long time that's gone by. 28, 2021 7:50 am610d ago, Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Feb. 28, 2023 6:39 pm, Crime and Courts Feb. 28, 2023 5:22 pm6h ago, Crime and Courts Feb. 28, 2023 5:19 pm6h ago, Caleb McCullough, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau State Government Feb. 28, 2023 7:17 pm, State Government Feb. 28, 2023 6:04 pm5h ago, Jeff Linder High School Basketball 38m ago38m ago. She wasn't crying so much as gasping, choking. We have no more information about his spouse. She affirmed her rulings made before and during trial regarding the defense's motion. Honestly, it wasnt until years afterward that experts even had a real police sketch to search for help from people in general in observing the person who killed her. Because this moment has finally come. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette), The cover of the 1972 West Delaware High School year book at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette). ", Martinko's family in a statement last December credited "the work of several generations of Cedar Rapids uniformed police and detectives in bringing Mr. Burns to justice. In fact, it wasn't until years later that authorities even had a proper police sketch to seek help from the public in locating the man who killed her. An Iowa man was on Friday sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole in the 1979 murder of an 18-year-old high school student. Investigatorssaid the man who stabbedMartinko cut his hand and left blood behindon her clothes and on the gear shift knob. Martinkowas found dead in her parents' Buickin the parking lot of Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids early on the morning of Dec. 20, 1979, curled onto the passenger seat floorboard, stabbed multiple times and bloodied from the wounds she sustained," first assistant Linn County attorney Nick Maybanks previously told jurors. 'It seems awful shocking to me, the way I've known him,' he said of Burns' arrest. The suspect, identified as Jerry Lynn Burns, DOB/12-23-1953, age 64, of Manchester, Iowa, was arrested today for the crime of Murder in the First Degree. His Girlfriend/boyfriends name is Not Available. "Correct, I had no explanation," said Burns. In June 2020, his attorney, Leon Spies, motioned for a retrial. 'The Dating Game' Killer Was Active for Almost 10 Years Before He Was Caught, Angie Dodge's Killer Evaded Capture for Over 20 Years, Where Is Convicted Murderer Jeffrey MacDonald Now? After turning to GEDmatch, a commercial genetic genealogy site, investigators narrowed their suspects to three brothers, all in Iowa. If you know some information, please comment below. "His first wife's death was a suicide, so he was talked to, but it was clearly a suicide," said the sheriff of 18 years. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) react as Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover reads Burns' sentence at a hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The law cannot punish Burns for the damage he had done to Martinko's family or the 'terrible shock, shame, pain and devastation inflicted on the innocent lives of his own family. More coverage from the Des Moines Register. He was taken into custody in the evening. Cheryl Hollrah, the sports bar cook, worked at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, whereMartinko's body was found in a car 39 years ago. The case itself had initially led investigators to assume the crime had been one of passion, with the amount of stab wounds to Martinko's face, but even now, there have been no answers as to why it happened. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. "Ialso feel bad for, you know, his current family and friends because now they have to go through all this as well. Jerry Burnss Family releases statement following arrest in He took his cat to the vet that morning and he was talking about getting it declawed and his cat wasn't happy with him," Wright said of Wednesday morning. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matt Denlinger listens as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (out of frame) speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Burns is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Michelle Martinko in 1979. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette). The profile found a hit with DNA from Brandy Jennings, a distant cousin, in the GEDmatch database, which is public. Nicholas Maybanks, the Linn County prosecutor handling the case, did not resistthe continuance, court records show. Martinko's body was found in her parents' Buick, which was parked near J.C. Penney at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. "I was 15 years old and when that happened my dad said, 'alright, no more shopping at Westdale Mall,' and, you know, we were just so scared," Mormann said. For Michelle Martinko murder suspect Jerry Burns, Timeline: What we know about Michelle Marie Martinko's death and investigation, Friend 'happy Michelle finally gets justice' after police make arrest in Martinko killing, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 'Shock, anguish and horror permeated the family them they first learned that 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed Dec. 19, 1979, John Stonebraker, her brother-in-law, said Friday in a videotaped victim impact statement. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. "Nice family.". In a court document made public Friday, he wrote that he makes $30,000 a year. Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts. Delaware CountySheriff John Leclere saidauthorities "don't have any reason to suspect (Burns) in either case.". He pointed out that Martinko's sister and brother-in-law said Martinko didn't take organ lessons; Carma Lou's House of Music wasn't in Westdale; and none of the many witnesses who testified at trial about seeing Martinko at the mall that night never mentioned it. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. It lies in a 'deeply selfish, lifelong personal need. Moreno said, "I would have never guessed. Heretrievedit after Burns left it behind, according to search warrants. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette), Jerry Burns (on left page, third picture from the top and third picture from the left) part of the senior class in a 1972 West Delaware High School year book at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in December of 1979 down family trees of great grandparents a. 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