(Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jerry Lynn Burns is led from the courtroom following his sentencing hearing at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. He waited for her at the mall and apprehended her in the parking lot, according to the theory. 'All of my customers today have been talking about (Burns' arrest) and how shocking it was,' Mormann told The Gazette Thursday. "I wish my parents could be here to see this. Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Testimony showed Burns was the major contributor of the profile - less than one in 100 billion of unrelated individuals would have the same profile, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation criminalists said. Michelle Martinko was viewed as wounded absurdly in her vehicle in the Westdale Mall parking structure. Any relationship to Jerry Burns who was arrested for the Michelle Martinko murder. Curran said he doesn't know how police homed in on Burns, but he's not passing judgment until he hears the facts. Then, in 2018, police used new DNA technology that hadn't been available in 1979 or even the '80s, when the composite sketch was released, to zero in on Burns and arrest him for Martinko's murder. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Burns was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 1979 death of Michelle Martinko. ", Elizabeth Laymon, who was high school friends with Martinko, said shevividly remembersthe day classmates sobbed after they learned of the stabbing. Aug. 7, 2020 6:12 pm, Updated: Aug. 7, 2020 8:23 pm. (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. He was arrested Dec. 19, 2018 - on the anniversary of her death. (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. Burns' arrest prompted a round of whispering about two of his family members. Maybanks recapped Monday how witnesses in the two weeks prior outlined an extensive chain of custody of the evidence to ensure no new DNA could have been introduced into the packages containing Martinko's bloodied clothes and pieces of the car. Follow the Register onFacebookandTwitterfor updates. An analyst at the state crime lab said DNA from the straw matched blood found on Martinko's dress. Jerry, who would have been 25 years old at the time of the murder, was convicted in February 2020. She said he lives and operates a business just five miles from her house. Also, we have no idea about his brother and sister, and we dont know their names either. Wendling, 37, said he has known Burns all his life. She had gone to the mall that night to get a coat her mother had put on layaway. Our first look at Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, of Manchester after he was arrested this morning for first-degree murder in the 1979 homicide case of Michelle Martinko. He rebutted some of the prosecution's factual claims, insisting that there wasn't substantial evidence that Burns' DNA was retrieved from his blood, noting previous testimony indicating it could have been saliva or even transferred skin cells and that the presence of DNA in itself could not implicate Burns. Across the aisle, the benches behind Burns were packed to the brim. However, the state argued that Denlinger pointed out several times the decision was up to him and that Burns was free to make calls as needed. As the investigation slowed, a $10,000 reward was offered. Until now, Stonebraker said. Now,herface and chest had been stabbed at least eight times. 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. 'We were in the same class, so I've known him almost 50 years,' McElliot said Thursday. "No, I must not have asked properly, we were never instructed in school how to ask..they just seemed to ignore it," said Burns. In any case, not a lot about his family has been unveiled at this point, because of a few private matters. She wasn't crying so much as gasping, choking. Burns now owns Advanced Coating Concepts in Manchester, he said. District Associate Judge Casey D. Jones set Burns' bond at $5 million on Dec. 20, 2018. Maybanks also choose not to resist the defense's request that the trial be moved out of the eastern Iowa county where the alleged crime took place. While waiting to His arrest left those in Manchester, who have lived and worked alongside him for decades, asking how the person they know could be connected to such a crime. Then for proof. There was very little information on the 55-year-old's vanishing and Leclere said there are no leads today. (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. Delaware CountySheriff John Leclere saidauthorities "don't have any reason to suspect (Burns) in either case.". Spies asked the judge to suppress part of the research Cole used to make his report, pointing out this was a very unusual case. Cheryl Hollrah, the sports bar cook, worked at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, whereMartinko's body was found in a car 39 years ago. You will begin to receive our Daily Courts & Public Safety updates. 'From the leadership on down, they never gave up. 'This is something that affects the whole community,' he said, 'and everybody wants answers.'. The profile found a hit with DNA from Brandy Jennings, a distant cousin, in the GEDmatch database, which is public. Wright said he never had a negative experience in seven months of knowingBurns. "Its scary," Moreno 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. Burns sentencing is likely to be scheduled for early April, though a date has notbeen set, District Judge Fae Hoover said. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. ", 'Complete shock':Family of the man charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Michelle Martinko speaks out. 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. During an interview with the Des Moines Register, Laymon called the arrest "amazing" news and said she was relieved. For 64-year-old Jerry Burns, it was a straw he used at a pizza restaurant in Manchester, Iowa. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. When 18-year-old Cedar Rapids, Iowa resident Michelle Martinko went missing on Dec. 19, 1979, it became a case that soon ran cold. "We left Cedar Rapids, but Cedar Rapids never left us," he said, choking up outside the courthouse while his wife nodded in agreement. The police chief at the time, Ray Baker, said the fatal stabbing "outraged the whole community.". CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) 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. "Ialso feel bad for, you know, his current family and friends because now they have to go through all this as well. The two had done business beforeWendling owns a body shop, Paint-N-Place, and Burns owns a powder-coating company, Advanced Coating Concepts. Very nice gal, you know, she was straight A student, you know, she was one we looked up to," Moreno remembered. 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed Dec. 19, 1979, Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter, Caleb McCullough, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau. Recalling telling investigators, "I don't know, test it." (Stephen Mally/The Gazette), Jerry Burns (bottom left) is seen in a photo in a 1972 West Delaware High School year book at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. 2023 www.desmoinesregister.com. Nicholas Maybanks, the Linn County prosecutor handling the case, did not resistthe continuance, court records show. 'We've also had a lot of customers come in from out of town and a lot of them asked about it.'. "For Michelles family and friends, we know that the pain of losing a daughter, sister or friend will never go away," Jermansaid. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. Burns then turned toward his family, sitting in the courtroom, and thanked them for their support. At long last, following 40 years of homicide of Michelle Martinko, Burns went to preliminary and was accused of first-degree murder. Tyler Davis can be reached attjdavis@registermedia.comor on Twitter@TDavisDMR. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover listens as First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nicholas Maybanks (not pictured) speaks at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Although Burns' conviction and sentencing is clear and he is now in prison, his legal team has continued to assert his innocence and overturn the verdict. 2023 www.desmoinesregister.com. Update, Feb. 24, 2020: Within hours of the trials closing arguments, a Scott County jury has convicted Jerry Burns of first-degree murder in the death of Michelle Martinko. But Burns will 'forfeit his freedom forever and die alone. "It's a small community; everybody kind of knows everybody," he said. In January 2019, he pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set. 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. 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