(Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns and defense attorney Leon Spies (right) listen to Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. 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. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette). 'You'll never convince me he did something like that.'. Four decades ago, 18-year-oldMichelle Marie Martinko was found stabbed to death in the family's car in the parking lot of a Cedar Rapids mall. Although Martinko's case was eventually solved, the mystery outlived both of her parents, who died years before Burns was found guilty, and Killer Cases explains, the hope of finding her killer and figuring out what happened and why slowly dwindled throughout the years. Burns then turned toward his family, sitting in the courtroom, and thanked them for their support. At long last, in 2018, Jerry Lynn was caught and blamed for the teens 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&Es executioner cases. Instead, it was a Thursday evening news update. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Friends and family of Jerry Burns react as he is led from the courtroom following his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Heretrievedit after Burns left it behind, according to search warrants. Previous coverage:Decades after fatal stabbing, Michelle Martinko's family comes face-to-face with her alleged killer. Burns pleaded not guiltyin January. 'I'd say the reaction today has been utter disbelief,' said Jackie Mormann, owner of The Bread Basket, a local eatery on Main Street in downtown Manchester. She wasn't crying so much as gasping, choking. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed Dec. 19, 1979, Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter, Caleb McCullough, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau. 'Nobody is guilty until they prove it.'. CEDAR RAPIDS - The Martinko family lived without answers for 39 Christmases. Burns' arrest prompted a round of whispering about two of his family members. Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. For nearly 40 years, the family of slain high schooler Michelle Martinko waited for an arrest. Be that as it may, on February 24, 2020, he was viewed as at real fault for first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Charley Project is NOT a registered non-profit organization and any donations will NOT be tax-deductible. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. 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. "The people in law enforcement take on their duty and their task seriously," Maybanks told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network,afterthe verdict. "It's a small community; everybody kind of knows everybody," he said. Never did I ever think he had a mean bone in his body," said McElliot, 64. She even graduated with his youngest daughter. She affirmed her rulings made before and during trial regarding the defense's motion. While waiting to Last updated May 14, 2020; details of disappearance updated. "We would ride up and down that road by his house and never thought anything of it," she said. Staff writer Erin Jordan contributed to this story. The Gazette is Iowas independent, employee-owned source for local, state, and national news coverage. ", "We don't exactly know the whys and some of the details, but we definitely know who did it, and that was terribly important to us," Janelle Stonebraker, Michelle Martinko's older sister, said after the verdict was read. The two had done business beforeWendling owns a body shop, Paint-N-Place, and Burns owns a powder-coating company, Advanced Coating Concepts. Birky also noted that Martinko should have had two organ books and an assignment book with her after leaving the lesson that night. Investigatorssaid the man who stabbedMartinko cut his hand and left blood behindon her clothes and on the gear shift knob. Day 3, Jerry Burns takes witness stand in Martinko hearing, Man accused of killing Michelle Martinko begins hearing to suppress evidence, Day 2 of hearing to suppress evidence in Michelle Martinko murder case, Linn Co. Sheriffs office investigating Hwy. Several residents lauded his professionalism and business savvy. An analyst at the state crime lab said DNA from the straw matched blood found on Martinko's dress. The essential contention from Burns protection group was that the confirmation used for the circumstance from back in 1979 was abused by then. "I worked nights and it just freaked me out.". Burns is being held at Linn County Jail on a $5 million cash bond. "Ialso feel bad for, you know, his current family and friends because now they have to go through all this as well.". Burns was arrested and questioned when his DNA matched that of some found on Martinko's clothes at the time of her murder. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Family and friends of Jerry Burns react as Burns is sentenced at his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. "I almost quit," she said. 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 Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Russ Wright works the registerin the building Burns built. Jerry Burns as a senior in a 1972 West Delaware High School year book at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Burns Wife Died in June 2008. Both Mormann and Moreno say this a life lesson that you never truly know your neighbors. In any case, not a lot about his family has been unveiled at this point, because of a few private matters. 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. Burns, 66, was arrested at his Manchester, Iowa, business on Dec. 19, 2018 the 39th anniversary of Martinko's death and charged with first-degree murder in 'He came in two or three times a week, always around 7:30 in the morning,' Wright said. Residents interviewed Friday said they can't square the allegations of a gruesome killing and 39 years with nary a hint of suchbehavior with the man they've known, who went to high school in Manchester, about 45 miles north of Cedar Rapids, and spent much of his adult life there. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Jerry Lynn Burns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. But we are trying hard to collect all the information about him and will update you soon. Jerry Lynn Burns, 66, was found guilty in February of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko in Cedar Rapids. "No, I must not have asked properly, we were never instructed in school how to ask..they just seemed to ignore it," said Burns. More coverage from the Des Moines Register. WebView Jerry Burns results in Marion, IA including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Defense attorney Leon Spies declined to comment immediately following the verdict. But with 39-years later, limited information, that's a long time that's gone by. Jerry, who would have been 25 years old at the time of the murder, was convicted in February 2020. During an interview with the Des Moines Register, Laymon called the arrest "amazing" news and said she was relieved. At this time, however, Burns remains behind bars. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KWWL) -- On the third day of a hearing to suppress evidence in the cold case killing of Michelle Martinko, the man accused of the brutal crime took the witness stand, speaking publicly for the first time. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. The man accused of killing a Cedar Rapids woman 40 years ago was back in court Friday for a hearing to suppress evidence. He said he has ordered Burns not to speak with news media. 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. "If you saw him out in thepublic, he would sit there and talk with you and say 'hi' to you every time he'dseen you.". Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts, Who Is David Bolt? "We don't exactly know the whys and some of the details, but we definitely know who did it, and that was terribly important to us," she said. In his statement, Stonebraker said he will never forget Janet Martinko calling them early Dec. 20, 1979, after she had identified the 'bloody, torn, broken body of her beautiful daughter. ", 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. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. To that point in the investigation, we were confident who our perpetrator was, so we figured out the who. Jerry Burns may be a hitched man, having a spouse and kids. 'Janelle and I are very pleased and grateful for the work of several generations of Cedar Rapids uniformed police and detectives in bringing Mr. Burns to justice,' John Stonebraker said in a statement to The Gazette. The mothers name is Not Available. Predictions were made for ancestry and facial features, police said. The cold-case murder has drawn intense public interest, and Friday's hearing was livestreamed because of limited seating. "Very in an upbeat mood, he bought his lottery tickets and he bought his two Cokes and Ijust said Jerry, have a good one, I'll see you tomorrow. District Associate Judge Casey D. Jones set Burns' bond at $5 million on Dec. 20, 2018. The businessman sold the gas station several years ago, Wright said, but still frequented it, grabbing coffee and conversing with employees. Advertisement Stonebraker and his wife, Janelle, Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. Burns was arrested 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. She can be contacted at aspoerre@dmreg.com, 515-284-8387or on Twitter at@annaspoerre. The music books either were dropped somewhere police didn't searched or the killer disposed of them, he said. As the investigation slowed, a $10,000 reward was offered. 'Never in a million years would I suspect he'd be involved in something like this,' he said. 'The community can be very proud of its law enforcement, and for the tremendous comfort and support area residents have extended to our family over the thirty-nine years since Michelle's death. "But the world's a big place and we dont know anything about anybody. Previous to Jerry's current city of Manchester, IA, Jerry Burns lived in Cedar Falls IA. Age Explored Jerry Burns present age is 67 years, as he was born somewhere near 1954, in Manchester, Iowa. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. District Judge Fae Hoover on Dec. 9 agreed to move the trial to the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport. Where Could Jerry Burns Now be? 2023 www.desmoinesregister.com. Burns also claimed that he did in fact ask for a lawyer during the interview but that investigators didn't help him to do so. The judge is expected to make a final ruling on what evidence is admissible and if any will be suppressed sometime next week. "I wish my parents could be here to see this.". In January 2019, Burns contended not culpable and a starter date was set. On Thursday, other people in town said they were shocked, stunned or astounded by the news. We found 3 records for Jerry S Burns in Manchester, IA. His family and friends remained seated after Martinkos family left the courtroom. Burns' sentence also included that he wouldn't be eligible for parole. Follow the Register onFacebookandTwitterfor updates. He also said it was difficult to believe that law enforcement never came across such information in the nearly 40 years of investigation. "The daughter of Jerry was in my graduating class of '99. Stonebraker said he is sad for the Burns family and wanted to 'wish them well.. Spies argued that Burns never consented to his DNA being collected from a straw left behind at a Pizza Ranch or to be found through an ancestry site. More than 60 were tested and cleared. "The community is in shock, his friends are in shock, his family is in shock. Burns' attorneys claimed the case has been surroundedby "pervasive and prejudicial pretrial publicity" and has been in the public eye for the past four decades,court filings show. Likewise, Mike McElliot, of Ryan, who has known Burns since they were freshmen at West Delaware High School, said he finds the news impossible to believe. DAVENPORT, Iowa It took more than four decades, but the man who brutally killed a Cedar Rapids high school student is poised to spend the rest of his life in jail. We remain so grateful to generations of Cedar Rapids law enforcement that acted like a dog with a bone, Stonebraker said. It was a case,Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said, "that has haunted our community for decades. Exactly 39 years after her death, police took a Manchester man into custody after matching his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. 'You have to go with the evidence,' he said. Spies asserted that the way authorities went about obtaining DNA from Burns and his family members to prove his DNA was found at the crime scene was a violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. They just would not let it go., Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Delaware CountySheriff John Leclere saidauthorities "don't have any reason to suspect (Burns) in either case.". In any case, not a lot about his family has been unveiled at this point, because of a few private matters. Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. Burns is being held at Linn County Jail on a $5 million cash bond. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. DAVENPORT, Ia. 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. Leclere said Burns was never considered a suspect in his cousin's missing-person investigation. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Burns' DNA profile was developed from blood on Martinko's black dress. 'Mr. DAVENPORT, Ia. In one of those profiles, authorities said there were fewer than one in 100 billion unrelated individuals who would have had the same profile. Not culpable and a starter date was set Gazette is Iowas independent, employee-owned source global. 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