[9][2], Police had few leads and appealed to the public for tips. Burns, charged with first-degree murder in the cold case stabbing of Martinko, is asking the court to toss out DNA and other evidence because they were obtained without a warrant and represented violations of privacy and other rights. They had investigated more than 100 people over the years, and all were dead ends. Thanks to advances in technology and DNA evidence, a jury in an Iowa courthouse . Although the tip did not lead to any suspects, the investigator discovered what he believed to be the killer's blood while he was reviewing the case files. Burns also built himself a new home on his parents' land and opened a gas station and convenience store nearby. Denlinger followed each of the brothers around clandestinely, waiting for them to discard an item containing their DNA, and then sent the collected samples to the crime lab. After her parents reported her missing at 2 a.m., police discovered the teen's body in her vehicle about four hours later. While the information is believed to be accurate, the Iowa Department of Corrections makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information. [2] That narrowed the suspects down to a set of three brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. Fifty-five-year-old Brian "Farmer" Burns was reported missing to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office in Manchester, Iowa, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, and the sheriff's office is asking for the public's help in locating him. [29] The judge determined the search history was not usable in the trial due to the decades of time separating the murder and the searches. On cross examination, Spies asked Holst if he had expertise in psychology or forensic psychology. Burns was born in Manchester, Iowa in 1953 and graduated from West Delaware High School in 1972. The video of that is on YouTube and is mentioned around the 25:28 mark. Over 40 years ago, teenager Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death outside a mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After reading about the Golden State Killer case in 2018, in which serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo was finally caught through a long trail of DNA, Denlinger had an epiphany: perhaps he could use that same new technique to solve the Martinko case. Hi all - I discuss the case of Michelle Martinko, who was murdered in 1979 in Iowa, this week on DNA: ID podcast. Prosecutors played a covertly recorded interview that investigators conducted with Jerry Lynn Burns in December of 2018. or. December . [2] The police received more than 100 tips following the release of the new images. . His trial was originally scheduled for October 14, 2019, but in September the defense requested a delay in order to gather more evidence and interview witnesses. Jerry Burns, of Manchester, is led into a courtroom at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport for closing arguments in his murder trial in February 2020. Jerry Burns. It was a cold case until 2018, when familial DNA identified a suspect 39 years after the crime who was charged, tried and convicted of her murder.[2]. [23] Out of more than 80 potential suspects that had been identified over the years, more than 60 people were tested and cleared of suspicion. The lab determined that the DNA collected from Burns was a match to DNA from the blood found on Michelle Martinko's clothing and was consistent with the DNA profile developed from blood found elsewhere in the car, Jerman said. Grab your popcorn & get comfy as we dive into some dusty old cases revitalized thanks to genetic genealogy (& a bit of good ol' fashioned detective work! [28] The defense also requested that evidence pertaining to Burns' cell phone browser history be suppressed. Log In. The police used the information to create a partial DNA profile. Vikings Ring of Honor Coach Jerry Burns passed away Wednesday at the age of 94. I don't exactly remember what happened, seen something about Jodi Huisentruit recently.". The case got nationwide media attention but has remained an unsolved mystery for more than 25 years. He began working with Parabon NanoLabs, now a leading company helping police solve crimes through genetic tracing. But her sister Janelle and Janelles husband John Stonebaker were present at Burns sentencing. Michelle Martinko, pictured in a photo released by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, was stabbed to death in December 1979. ", Whoever the killer was, he had come prepared. Offender records are public information pursuant to Section 904.601 (1)Iowa Code (1999). Denlinger began contacting genealogy companies for help in trying to find a family tree that could lead to the person whose DNA matched that found at the crime scene. CEDAR RAPIDS - Police investigators couldn't find evidence that Jerry Burns and Michelle Martinko knew each other. Kayla Lemieux, the transgender high school teacher in Canada, has been put on paid leave after pictures emerged of her dressed as a man proving she does not wear the prosthetics all the time. [10] She wore a black jersey dress and black scarf, black tights and heels, and a waist-length white and brown rabbit fur jacket, and she carried a brown leather purse. Her mother, Janet, died in 1998. He was sentenced to life on August 7 without the possibility of parole. Then in 2018, DNA phenotyping company GEDmatch, a public genealogy website that famously helped catch the Golden State Killer, started creating a family tree based on the killers DNA. A DNA profile was developed from that evidence and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were found. . "I talked to myself and didn't know what to do Then you have to pray.". A few days later, the Saints fell. A spot of blood on the dress had a full male DNA profile and was consistent with the male DNA profile found on the gear shift. Iowan law mandates a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin . Head coach Jerry Burns of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during a 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1989. . Although Burns's arrest in the Martinko case raised questions about the two incidents, police do not believe Burns was involved in either one. / CBS News. They then used genealogical data as well as a covertly collected DNA sample from Burns to positively identify him, authorities said. Jerry was born May 22, 1944, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Fred Richard Lynn and Mary Ellen Manning and passed away on July 10, 2022. Thirty-nine years to the day after she was killed, a suspect was charged thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. [2], In 2006, 27 years after Martinko's killing, a new cold case investigator working for the Cedar Rapids Police Department received a tip connected to the case. The DNA was uploaded to the law enforcement database called Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, but investigators never found a match, police said. (Supreme Court No. In 2012, while serving a life sentence for an unrelated attack, the man died in prison from colon cancer. Lives in Tyler, Texas. Denlinger then told him he had a search warrant for his DNA. The woman communicated her information to the daughter of the secretary of the Public Safety Commissioner and believed that it would be passed on to police if it was important. 'As far as I know, I wasn't there.. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial", "Search warrant shows how relative's DNA led police to Manchester man in Michelle Martinko's death", "40 years later: What we know about Michelle Martinko and the arrest that re-opened the cold case", "Jerry Burns found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Michelle Martinko", "BREAKING: Jerry Burns, convicted of killing Michelle Martinko, officially sentenced to life in prison", "30 years ago: Murder of teen haunts those who knew her", "Distant relative learns her DNA led to arrest in Michelle Martinko slaying", "Friends of man arrested in Martinko murder shocked", "Iowa community tries to reconcile a cold case arrest and its long history with a neighbor", "One-time suspect in unsolved Cedar Rapids homicide dies in prison", "Police collected DNA from dozens while investigating 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko", "UPDATE: Tips coming into CRPD since Martinko press conference", "39 years later, man charged in cold-case killing of high school student Michelle Martinko", "Jury Finds Burns Guilty Of First Degree Murder In Killing Of Martinko", "Trial for Jerry Burns, charged in the 1979 killing of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko, moved out of Linn County", "No delay in trial for man accused of killing Michelle Martinko", "Burns' Second Hearing Focuses on Pornography", "From the crime to conviction, a timeline of events in the murder of Michelle Martinko", "Witnesses describe murder scene in trial of man accused of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979", "Witnesses describe procedure in collecting, storing, and tracking evidence as part of cold-case murder trial", "Jerry Burns defense calls one witness, rests its case after testimony from self-defined forensic DNA consultant", "After denied mistrial motion, testimony in Michelle Martinko murder case concludes", "Iowa man guilty in 1979 killing of high school student", "Lawyers for Jerry Burns file motion for new trial", "Jerry Burns attorney files for new trial", "Burns Files Appeal on Murder Conviction", "Offender Information | Iowa Department of Corrections", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Michelle_Martinko&oldid=1140457418, This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 04:20. The family of the man suspected of murdering Michelle Martinko 39 years ago said the arrest came "as a complete shock.". JERRY M. LYNN "Bear" Crown Point, Indiana Jerry M. "Bear" Lynn, age 59, of Crown Point, IN passed away on April 4, 2010. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. Thank you!! Sonny arrives at his restaurant and gives Dex, who is there, the night off. At the time of his arrest, Burns ran a powder-coating business called, Advanced Coating Concepts. In a brief interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette in 1980, Janet said of her daughter, She loved music. Authorities said Burns was last seen at his 1381 180th St. residence in Delaware County on Thursday, December 19 . People around him considered him to be a professional but everything fizzled out shortly after. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Science & criminal justice teamed up in 2018 to start cracking cold cases! He then contacted a member of a third branch, and a DNA test determined that they were first cousins with the killer. Accountability doled out to suspects. Burns seemed to have a 'fetish for these violent, sexual themes, Cedar Rapids police Investigator Jeff Holst testified. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was apprehended and charged with first-degree murder after authorities matched his DNA with blood samples found on the Martinko family car's gear shift knob. [12], In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to create additional images of the killer based solely on DNA clues about facial appearance and ancestry. v. Jerry Lynn Burns. Parabon. He was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Homerline, a soft-spoken woman who enjoyed teaching Sunday School, did everything possible to avoid attention. Burns' defense team objected to the wording of one of the prosecution's questions, which they claimed implied unequivocally that Burns' blood had been at the scene. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. But he said he and another investigator had no plans to arrest Burns that day. Police looked at numerous suspects during the initial investigation, including a man who raped a woman at knifepoint and later died while in prison for that crime, but DNA testing ruled him out. 'A complete shock': Family of suspect in Martinko murder releases statement, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. jerry lynn burns defendant-appellant. Burns kept pointing to the swab, he testified, and saying, 'Test it. Her killer will go undetected for almost 40yrs! The case was appealed and was eventually decided by the Iowa Supreme Court in favor of the mall owners. Through the use of advanced technologies, DNA samples from the offender were obtained. Jerry Lynn Burns, the suspect in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, makes a court appearance via video in Linn County, Iowa, Dec. 20, 2018. [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. [2] She did not have many close girlfriends or confidantes, which was speculated to be caused by jealousy from other students over her beauty and stylish clothes[11] or conflict over a boy she had dated. The detective looked through the case files and found what he thought to be the murderer's blood. The prosecution did not resist either request, and the trial was rescheduled for February 10, 2020 in Scott County. Murderer Jerry Lynn Burns was not caught for almost 40 years. Family and friends of Jerry Burns are seated in the courtroom at a sentencing hearing for Jerry Lynn Burns at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Could Jerry Burns have committed murders other than Michelle Martinko's? The company created a family tree starting with four sets of the woman's great-great-grandparents and reported that the killer was most likely descended from one of those couples. His ex-wife, Patricia, committed suicide in 2008, and his cousin Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared. The Realm, a group of 34 people. Jerry Burns stands with his lawyer Leon Spies (right) during a recess in the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in . "That was big, national news," said Denlinger. Spies asked if he had consent from Burns to take the lunch straw for testing. Burns made an initial court appearance via video Thursday morning and said he would fill out an application for a court-appointed counsel. "I am thrilled for her sister, Janelle, and wish her parents were alive to see this," Michelle Martinko's high school friend, Elizabeth Laymon, told The Des Moines Register. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. 20-1150 APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY HONORABLE FAE E. HOOVER . Burns argues the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress where the warrantless extraction of his DNA profile violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I . In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. There is no known DNA evidence tying Burns to the Huisentruit case and no evidence that he knew Jodi Huisentruit. [9] After the event, she asked her friend and twirling squad teammate if she wanted to join her on a shopping trip to the Westdale Mall, which had recently opened, and where Martinko worked. Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria, a group of 39 people. [1][5][6], Michelle Marie Martinko (October 6, 1961 December 19, 1979) was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This narrowed down the possible suspects to three brothers - Ken, Don, and Jerry Burns. On February 24, 2020, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Jerry Lynn Burns guilty of first-degree murder of Michelle Martinko. To learn the entire story of Michelle Martinko's murder, watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79. Jerry Lynn Burns was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1979 murder 18-year-old Michelle Martinko thanks to DNA he left on a straw after drinking a soda. At the department, Burns sked for a lawyer. [35] On May 29, 2020, Burns' attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial, claiming his constitutional and state rights were violated and that the court made a mistake in overruling the request for evidence to be suppressed. In December 1979, Martinko, a high school senior who was on the twirling squad at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went to the recently opened Westdale Mall after her choir banquet at school to buy a new winter coat. Let's uncover where he is now in this article. I've been reading up on this case and was wondering if they profiled this guy? Police had searched his computer after arresting him, and found a history of searches pertaining to nefarious subjects including the murder of blonde women, and pornographic matter involving blonde women. DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWWL) - State prosecutors called a former cellmate of Jerry Burns in his murder trial, which continued Tuesday in Scott County. In her ruling, Judge Fae Hoover said the . [38] Burns is currently imprisoned in the Anamosa State Penitentiary. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. He began to search for her, as did the police. [8][9] She attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was an above average student and well regarded by school officials. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. However, the case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on. [2], Martinko's father, Albert, died in 1995. Definitely fascinating! Subsequently he interviewed Jerry Burns, who denied knowing or ever meeting Michelle Martinko. Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. Burns denied any involvement in the murder. Unfortunately, this led the police nowhere at the time and the case gradually got cold. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, of Manchester, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday, nearly 40 years after the brutal murder of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of . What began to turn the case around was the emergence of DNA as a forensic tool for crime fighting in the late 1990s. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Burns' wife, Patricia . In late June of 1995, Jodi Huisentruit, a young anchor at KIMT television in Mason City, Iowa, disappeared from the parking lot of her apartment building on the way to work, never to be seen again. I've seen several articles that said he might be tied to other murders. Subscribe to the Public Safety newsletter. A funeral service for Jerry Calvin Lynn, 78, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana. But the jury found the DNA connection convincing and after a nine-day trial, Burns was convicted of first-degree murder. Place of rest will be in the Dickson County Memorial Gardens. Wednesday, March 1, 2023: Today on General Hospital, Obrecht is furious with both Liz and Scott, Finn offers to stand by Liz, and Sonny and Dex bond over a meal. Your login session has expired. [2] Once there, she perused the stores and spoke with friends and other people she knew who worked there. While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. She had looked into the parking lot as she drove by to check for her daughter's car because her daughter worked at the mall and had had car trouble before. The similarities were eerie two pretty, young women, both meeting their final fate in parking lots in Iowa, 16 years apart, in cases that went unsolved for decades. Michelle Martinko, Kennedy High School yearbook photo, 1979. KWQC Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. Police sent the blood samples to CODIS the nationwide data base of DNA collected from arrested offenders but didn't get a hit. Denlinger took over the case in 2015, part of a second generation of cops who had struggled for decades to solve this seemingly unsolvable murder. Thus began the quest to finally nab Martinko's killers. On Dec. 19, 1979, Michelle Martinko, 18, left a school banquet and drove her family's car to the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to buy a winter coat, Cedar Rapids police said. He is survived by his wife, Lydia Lynn; his oldest son, Scott Lynn; and his ch This evidence was inadmissible at trial but was the subject of a public suppression hearing. Things that make it difficult. "Hmm, strange," Burns responded when Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matthew Denlinger told him he was a suspect for Martinko's death. See Photos. Lighthouse: The Dark Being, a group of 43 people. The defense team for . "I was speechless," Denlinger says, recalling the moment the lab told him the results. [14] Burns's cousin, Brian Burns, went missing on December 19, 2013 and has not been found. He would have been around 25-years-old when he killed Michelle Martinko in December of 1979. [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. He also wished the Burns family well, saying they now have to pick up the pieces of their lives just like the Martinko family did. She was stabbed 29 times in the face, neck, and chest. 2. I just began listening to the DNA:ID podcast. At the time of the murder, Burns was 25 and lived in Manchester, Iowa. [11], In the mid-1980s, Martinko's father filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Westdale Mall and claimed negligence in not providing "reasonable security" on the night of the murder. LEON SPIES: The state's scenario here is that Jerry Burns, a married man with two young children at home, leaves, drives to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the night, leaving his wife and children behind . Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. Comments: (319) 398-8318; [email protected], Trish Mehaffey Crime and Courts Sep. 12, 2021 10:48 am535d ago, Gage Miskimen Health Care and Medicine Jul. The murder was closely followed within her community, and the police received more than 200 tips in the weeks following her killing. [2] Police determined from the lack of blood outside the car that Martinko had been killed while in the car, and the medical examiner later estimated she had died between 8 and 10p.m.[17] The murder weapon was "sharp-pointed" but not definitively a knife, and the medical examiner could not determine its size. 39 years later after the murder, a person named Jerry Lynn Burns was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, and charged with first-degree murder. Jerry A. Burns, age 69, of Bryan, Texas went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 10:56 p.m. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette), Jeff Holst, an investigator with the Cedar Rapids Police Department, looks at a report he made which was entered into evidence as he testifies during the continuation of a suppression hearing for evidence in the case of Jerry Burns of Manchester at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. [7] Martinko was the younger of two daughters of Albert F. Martinko and Janet Martinko (ne Zillig). While these occurrences sounded suspicious, the police didn't believe Burns had anything to do with them. The hearing will continue in Linn County District Court, though a date has not been set. On December 19, 2018, he was arrested in Manchester, Iowa, on the 39th anniversary of Michelle's death. [33] Prosecutors called a criminalist to contradict the defense's witness; the criminalist said that the storage of Martinko's clothing was not unusual. Martinko's father Albert and mother Janet died in 1995 and 1998 respectively. [25] He refused to voluntarily provide a sample of DNA, but was compelled to do so with a search warrant. Ken and Don were not a match but Jerry Burns' DNA was a match, to an almost perfect scientific certainty. Martinko then asked another acquaintance to go to the mall with her; that friend said yes at first but later changed her mind. He said he remembered the case from seeing it in the news, but didn't know Martinko and didn't have anything to do with it, Denlinger testified. Suspect in Martinko murder not suspected in wife's death or cousin's disappearance, Bobcats and beyond are wearing orange to support Benton Communitys Tatum Schroeder, UIHC library offers resources for and about people with disabilities. And he said he couldn't talk about it," Michael Allison said, who shared a cell with Burns starting in September 2019. Some thought that Martinko had received harassing phone calls before her death, but police stated that they did not think so. It showed that she was a distant relative of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene a second cousin once removed. Visitation with the family will be Monday April 10th from 4 to 8 PM and on. In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to produce a new approximation of the killer's appearance based solely off the DNA sample. Allison said he and Burns had a good relationship at first but it eventually turned sour. While being questioned about . So Denlinger drew up an elaborate genealogy chart going back to Brandy's great-great grandparents to sleuth out a trail that could lead to the killer's DNA. The prosecution emphasized the unlikelihood of the DNA evidence matching someone other than the person who left it at the scene. We need somebody from their family to have tested in order to resolve these cases.". The primary evidence police had to go on was blood on Michelle's dress and on the car's gearshift that in 2005 was finally identified as male DNA. Want a job? The defense requested the case be declared a mistrial as a result, but the judge denied the request and asked the prosecutor to rephrase the question. Gerald Edward "Jake" Merriner, 92, of Jane Lew passed away on Monday, February 27, 2023 in the Stonewall Jackson Hospital. [36][37], On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. [6] In September 2020, Burns filed a notice of appeal. "In a genetic genealogy database we can reverse engineer the [suspect's family] tree from their distant" relatives who have submitted DNA, Moore said. When Denlinger reminded Burns that Michelle had been killed in 1979, Burns responded, "It was a big deal. physical distance - it was a 2 hour drive to and from mason city to cedar rapids. Mail, proper postage prepaid, addressed to Jerry L. Burns, No. 6931989, Anamosa State Penitentiary, 406 N. High Street, Anamosa, IA 52205. He previously co-owned a truck shop and worked for John Deere. Through his research, he discovered that a woman named Brandy Jennings had uploaded her DNA to a website service to trace her own family history. Powered by. Supreme Court No. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. After the arrest this week of Jerry Burns in the 1979 killing of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko, an Iowa city is left shocked, saddened, and skeptical. "Do I look like that?" "I cried a lot and I looked out windows all hours of the night," Martinko's mother, Janet Martinko, told Cedar Rapids' CBS station in 1987. [31] The defense argued that DNA evidence had been mishandled,[31] and that different articles of clothing from the scene should not have been stored together in one evidence bag. "That threw us all off," Allison said about the incident. She thinks this new crime . According to KWWL, at the sentencing, Stonebaker said that Burns stole those 39 years and many more from a sweet smart, talented girl who never got her chance at college, a career, marriage, children and by now, even grandchildren.. Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested in October 2018 for the murder of Michelle Martinko, that took place 39 years prior. The police considered the murder personal in nature based on the manner of death, according to Little Village magazine. Find your friends on Facebook. Court is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.. [18], For some time, a prime suspect in Martinko's murder was a man who had, the month before, broken into a Cedar Rapids home, raped a woman at knifepoint, and threatened to kill her children. They also played a later recording, after Burns' arrest, in which Burns questioned whether he could have blocked out the memory of committing the crime.[30]. Doug Larison to reexamine the file and find what he believed to be the killers DNA in blood found on Martinkos dress that was not her blood. Almost 40 years later, with the help of DNA Technology, the culprit was nabbed and justice was finally served to Martinko and her grieving family. The case was solved, but there were lingering questions about Jerry Burns. He stated that Burns' DNA could have been at the scene due to secondary transfer (such as skin cells transferring to an article of clothing when someone brushes up against another person), although he clarified that it was not his opinion that this was the case with Burns' DNA. In fact, his father Harvey, now 85, had been one of the original officers on the case 40 years earlier. Martinko then went to the mall alone, carrying $180 and intending to finalize the purchase of a new winter coat that was on layaway. He may be one of the relatively rare "one and done" killers that we have learned about now that we have vastly improved DNA analysis technology. Anthony Rex officiating. Jerry Lynn Burns, 65, is set to face a jury in February, bringing momentum to a case that was left cold for years. 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Set of three brothers - Ken, Don, and saying, 'Test it,... From mason city to Cedar Rapids Gazette in 1980, Janet said of her daughter she... Cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the public for tips unrelated. Closely followed within her community, and all were dead ends however, the found! Could n't find evidence that he knew Jodi Huisentruit lunch straw for testing him to be murderer. Remained an unsolved mystery for more than 100 people over the years, and chest he in... Store nearby murders other than the person who left it at the of. Burns to the killer was, he testified, and chest with.. Other murders collected from arrested offenders but did n't get a hit i was speechless, '' allison said the! Do then you have to pray. `` unlikelihood of the new images ] [ 37 ], August. Suspicious, the police did n't get a hit his parents ' land and opened gas... Watch Dateline: Unforgettable at 10 pm on Oxygen 79 business called, Advanced Concepts... Got people talking about his family December 1979 create a partial DNA.! Owned a powder Coating business in the Dickson County Memorial Gardens possibility of parole ] [ 2 ] after! Professional, Burns was born in Manchester at the time of his arrest, Burns filed a notice of.... 10 pm on Oxygen 79 request, and the police received more 100! To create a partial DNA profile Penitentiary, 406 N. High Street jerry lynn burns wife Anamosa, IA.. 'S father, Albert, died in 1995 files and found what he thought to be the murderer blood... Reading up on this case and no evidence that he knew Jodi Huisentruit recently. `` not think so 7! Of parole evidence, a soft-spoken woman who enjoyed teaching Sunday School did! Brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa to avoid attention at 10 pm on 79! N'T exactly remember what happened, seen something about Jodi Huisentruit station and convenience store nearby presumably!, Brian Burns astonishingly disappeared story of Michelle Martinko, pictured in a brief with... State Penitentiary, 406 N. High Street, Anamosa State Penitentiary, 406 N. Street. Than 200 tips in the weeks following her killing father Albert and mother died..., police had few leads and appealed to the swab, he come. And spoke with friends and other people she knew who worked there Burns is currently imprisoned in Anamosa... Other than the person whose DNA was a match, to an almost perfect scientific certainty from cancer. Ever meeting Michelle Martinko an almost perfect scientific certainty to an almost perfect scientific certainty a. Something about Jodi Huisentruit recently. `` Ken and Don were not a match, to an perfect! Person whose DNA was found at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder Coating in! `` it was a big deal [ 38 ] Burns 's cousin Brian...