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You are here: Home / Unsolved / Remembering Michelle Martinko

Remembering Michelle Martinko

October 29, 2015 By Alice

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

Remembering Michelle Martinko who was found murdered around 4am on December 20, 1979 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The police discovered her body in the parking lot of the Westdale Mall. The Kennedy High School senior had been stabbed to death in the family Buick.

Michelle Martinko was repeatedly stabbed most notably in her face and chest. She was just eighteen years old.

From Iowa Cold Cases: “On June 19, 1980, police released a composite sketch of the man they believed stabbed Martinko. Police developed the sketch based on descriptions provided by two witnesses. The sketch indicated a white male in his late teens or early 20s, weighing between 165 and 175 pounds, and standing about 6 feet tall.”

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

In 2006, the Cedar Rapids Police Department announced that they had DNA in Michelle’s case. They asked the public for tips and help to find this male suspect. You can find the sketch on Jody Ewing’s “Iowa Cold Cases (link above).” Despite the many tips, none produced the lead the authorities need to solve Michelle’s murder.

CR Gazette June 19 1980
From the Cedar Rapids Gazette, June 19, 1980

Please do take a look at Jody Ewing’s blog and if you can, share that post on your social media accounts. Someone might have moved away from the Cedar rapids area not knowing that there is a composite sketch available. For your convenience, here below is the sketch.

Michelle has not been forgotten by her friends and family. In fact, they contacted me. I have permission to use these two beautiful pictures of Michelle on my blog.

Keep Michelle in your thoughts as the 36th anniversary of her murder approaches during the Holiday Season. This is always a very hard time for victim family members. Knowing that their loved ones are not forgotten, helps.

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Knife Attack, Michelle Martinko

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  1. Michelle Martinko: background information - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    December 21, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    […] denied killing Michelle Martinko when he appeared by video for his arraignment. He will apply for court-appointed counsel. The judge […]

  2. Suspect composite in case of Michelle Martinko - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    May 21, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    […] Martinko was found dead around 4am 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 […]

  3. I lost my #1 fan! | Boomerang Zone says:
    October 29, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    […] a very particular day that I will not easily forget. It all started out good with me blogging and uploading posts on my professional blog. And then I felt a chill. No, it didn’t come from one of my cases. I […]

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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.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

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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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