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Research website by Alice de Sturler

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You are here: Home / Case of the Month / Arrest in 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko

Arrest in 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko

December 19, 2018 By Alice

Michelle Martinko, courtesy Robert J. Riley
Michelle Martinko, courtesy Robert J. Riley

Michelle Martinko was found dead on Dec. 20, 1979. She was repeatedly stabbed most notably in her face and chest. Police discovered her body in the family Buick in the parking lot of the Westdale Mall, Cedar rapids, Iowa. Police said there was no sign of a sexual assault, but she had wounds that indicated she fought with her attacker.

In October 2006, police announced they had developed the suspect’s DNA. However, no match was found in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

In May 2017, Cedar Rapids Police Department released a suspect composite sketch based on that DNA.

And today, they announced an arrest.

Jerry Lynn Burns (64) was arrested Wednesday Dec 19, 2018 and is facing a first-degree murder charge. “A covert DNA sample collected from a suspect by police was matched to blood found at the crime scene. With this evidence, investigators questioned Burns at his workplace in Manchester, where he denied committing the alleged killing. He was unable to offer an alternative explanation for why his DNA would have been found at the crime scene. He will appear in Linn County Court Thursday morning.”

“The medical examiner’s office said Martinko was found fully clothed and had not been sexually molested. Detectives found no weapon or fingerprints to identify a suspect and said Martinko had not been robbed. Based on the number of stab wounds — particularly to the young woman’s face — police considered the homicide personal in nature.” Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Casey Jones ordered a $5 million cash-only bail.

According to Iowa Courts Online, it appears Burns only has traffic offenses on his record. I will post more as it becomes available.

Rest in peace, Michelle Marie Martinko.

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Unsolved Tagged With: Cedar Rapids, DNA, Iowa, Michelle Martinko

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  1. Is the use of genetic testing constitutional? - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    June 17, 2020 at 11:32 am

    […] use of genetic testing is not without controversy. You can read here how they got Burns’ DNA. The gathering of discarded materials for DNA testing by the […]

  2. The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    March 23, 2019 at 3:39 pm

    […] Michelle Martinko and of course, […]

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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