Murder of Michelle Martinko

Overview

Michelle Marie Martinko (born October 6, 1961) was a senior at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On the evening of December 19, 1979, she attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir before going alone to the newly opened Westdale Mall to finalize a layaway purchase of a winter coat. She was last seen alive around 9 p.m. near a jewelry store in the mall. When she failed to return home, her father reported her missing at 2 a.m. Police located the family's 1972 Buick Electra in the mall parking lot at 4 a.m.; Martinko was found inside, stabbed to death.

The Crime

Martinko had been stabbed 29 times in her face, neck, and chest, and her hands showed defensive wounds. Investigators concluded, based on the absence of blood outside the vehicle, that she was killed inside the car, with the medical examiner estimating time of death between 8 and 10 p.m. Cash remained in her purse, ruling out robbery as a motive, and the medical examiner found no evidence of sexual assault. The killer left no fingerprints, suggesting the use of gloves. Police characterized the crime as "personal in nature" given the nature of the wounds.

Investigation and Cold Case Period

The initial investigation involved interviews with hundreds of people and polygraph testing, but produced no conclusive leads. A composite sketch of a suspect was released in June 1980 based on hypnosis-assisted witness descriptions. A prime suspect emerged in a man previously convicted of an unrelated rape, but DNA testing later excluded him; he died in prison in 2012. The case went cold for decades. In 2006, a cold case investigator reviewing case files discovered what was believed to be the killer's blood, from which a DNA profile was developed and entered into CODIS without any match.

In 2017, a DNA phenotyping company created facial approximations of the suspect based on the DNA sample. In 2018, that data was uploaded to the public genealogy site GEDmatch, returning a match to a woman determined to be a likely second cousin once removed of the suspect. Cedar Rapids investigators built a family tree and, through further DNA testing of relatives, narrowed the suspect pool to three brothers from Manchester, Iowa.

Identification, Arrest, and Trial

On October 29, 2018, investigators covertly collected a discarded drinking straw used by Jerry Lynn Burns and matched its DNA to blood found on Martinko's clothing. Burns was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on December 19, 2018 — exactly 39 years after the killing. His trial, moved to Scott County due to pretrial publicity, began February 12, 2020. Prosecutors presented DNA evidence and testimony from a former cellmate, while the defense argued possible evidence mishandling and secondary DNA transfer. On February 24, 2020, a jury convicted Burns of first-degree murder. On August 7, 2020, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Iowa Supreme Court denied his appeal on March 31, 2023.