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You are here: Home / Archives for Iowa

Iowa

Michelle Martinko: background information

December 21, 2018 By Alice

Michelle Martinko

Jerry Lynn Burns is facing first-degree murder charges for the Dec 20, 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. He is held at the Linn County Jail (Iowa). Burns Burns has his own company Advanced Coating Concepts in Delaware County, Iowa. It is a powder-coating shop but they are also a Hustler turf equipment dealer. Burns was […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics, Unsolved Tagged With: DNA, Iowa, Michelle Martinko, phenotyping

Arrest in 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko

December 19, 2018 By Alice

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 […]

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

Suspect composite in case of Michelle Martinko

May 17, 2017 By Alice

Michelle Martinko, courtesy Robert J. Riley

The Cedar Rapids Police Department can now show the public the suspect composite in the cold case of Michelle Martinko (18) who was murdered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 19, 1979. Michelle Martinko was found dead around 4am on Dec. 20, 1979. She was repeatedly stabbed most notably in her face and chest. Police […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics Tagged With: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Michelle Martinko, phenotyping

Remembering Michelle Martinko

October 29, 2015 By Alice

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 […]

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

Lisa Peak – Julie Benning – Valerie Klossowsky

November 1, 2014 By Alice

Valerie Klossowsky, Julie Benning, and Lisa Peak. Photographs courtesy of their famiies. Grid by AdS

Lisa Peak – Julie Benning – Valerie Klossowsky is a guest post written for DCC by Jody Ewing, the blogger behind Iowa Cold Cases. I was contacted a while ago by a reader, Tom, who alerted me to Lisa’s case. After an Internet search, Jody and I decided to work on this together and see […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, Iowa, Julie Benning, Lisa Peak, Strangulation, Unsolved Homicide, Valerie Klossowsky, Waverly

Help the Cedar Rapids Police

April 10, 2014 By Alice

Michelle Martinko

Help the Cedar Rapids Police to get in touch with an anonymous person who contacted the Linn County Crime Stoppers about Michelle Martinko‘s cold case. The Public Safety Communications Coordinator Greg M. Buelow contacted me with the following message: “The Cedar Rapids Police Department is requesting additional assistance from a Linn County Crime Stoppers tipster who provided investigators […]

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

The Grahlman murders

April 1, 2014 By Alice

Grave Jay & Jaymie Grahlman

The Case of the Month for April 2014: the Grahlman murders from April 5, 2003. I read about the Grahlman arson/double homicide case on Jody Ewing’s Iowa Cold Cases. Please read the circumstances of the crime there. No need to repeat Jody here. After I read the overview, many questions popped up in my mind and […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, Cruelty, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Iowa, Jay and Jaymie Grahlman

Case of the Month: Paula Oberbroeckling

March 1, 2014 By Alice

head shot Paula Oberbroeckling

Case of the Month: Paula Oberbroeckling (Feb 25, 1952 – July 11, 1970). Paula disappeared on July 11, 1970, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was 18 years old and dreamed of becoming a model. She had borrowed her roommate’s car to go off on an unspecified errand. Her roommate’s car was found parked in a no parking zone […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Autopsy, Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, Crime Scene, Iowa, Paula Oberbroeckling, Victim

Sum it up! #5

February 5, 2011 By Alice

sum it up #cclivechat

In this Sum it up I’d like to draw your attention to four websites or blogs that have kept me busy reading all week. The first one is “the Civil Rights Cold Case Project.”  On this site you can find information about cases related to the Civil Rights Era and some you will recognize since […]

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: death investigations, Frontline, Henry Dee & Charles Moore, Iowa, Moira "Holly" Branagan, NPR, Path Wonk, Sharron Prior, Sum it Up!, Villisca Axe Murders

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Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved 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, tone, and research. It is my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

My databases are free to the public. Cases are sorted by the victim’s last name.

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 cannot find the answers there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler
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