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. In earlier testimony, Matthew Denlinger, a Cedar Rapids police investigator who testified last week, was recalled to testify about Burns' interview with police Dec. 19, 2018. My gut tells me there's probably something else out there. But it was another technique from Parabon -- genetic genealogy -- that led investigators to Burns, CeCe Moore, Parabon's chief genetic genealogist, told ABC News. "[2] When asked if he had killed someone that night in 1979, Burns repeatedly told investigators, "Test the DNA". Further the Iowa Department of Corrections assumes no legal liability or . Exactly 39 years after Michelle Martinko's body was found, DNA evidence led to the arrest of a Manchester man who was charged with her 1979 murder. An obituary for Burns' wife, Patricia, says that she died in June 2008 at the age of 55 . Burns stated that DNA evidence had been mishandled in 1979 in one instance, but denied ever being present on the night of the murder in another. Janelle Stonebraker, Michelle's older sister, thinks that by fighting so vehemently that the suspect wounded himself and left his DNA behind, Michelle contributed to the investigation into her own murder. Jerry Burns is still behind bars on a $5 million cash bond, charged with first-degree murder in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. 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. Denlinger then told him he had a search warrant for his DNA. 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]. Prosecutor Nick Maybanks/Cedar Rapids Police Department, "Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case,". She was a beautiful singer, and I miss all this. Spies, on cross examination, asked if Denlinger had permission from Burns' two brothers and a distant cousin to access their DNA in developing a suspect pool. [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. The sample was put into a national computer database and was used to clear more than 70 of Martinkos acquaintances, according to NBC News. She was unsure her information would be of any use because she had read that the murder happened between 10p.m. and midnight, and it was 2a.m. when she drove by. Your login session has expired. Burns pleaded not guilty at his February 2020 trial but the jury deliberated just three hours and returned a guilty verdict. Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria, a group of 39 people. Sonny arrives at his restaurant and gives Dex, who is there, the night off. He was also ordered to pay $150,00 in restitution to Martinkos estate, according to KWWL. I am a brokenhearted mother.. 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. Despite being known as a professional, Burns arrest got people talking about his family. Michelle Martinko was an 18yr old student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. "Do I look like that?" Some thought that Martinko had received harassing phone calls before her death, but police stated that they did not think so. 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. 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. . Michelle was a high school senior when she was found stabbed to death in 1979 in a parking lot at the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report. But her sister Janelle and Janelles husband John Stonebaker were present at Burns sentencing. On December 20, 2018, a district judge set his bond at $5 million. Denlinger said no. After weeks pursuing a wide range of possible blood relatives, Parabon helped him narrow the search down to three middle-aged brothers in Iowa who would have been young men back in 1979: Ken, Don and Jerry Burns. Hi! Denlinger told him authorities would come back to talk to him after they got the results of the DNA test. Burns was read his Miranda rights and taken to the police department. [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. A article mentioned that the police found his Internet search history had stuff like 'murder, rape, harm of blonde women'. When the police executed a search warrant for Burns home and office, they found a computer search history that included blonde females, assault, rape, strangulation, murder, abuse and rape of a deceased individual, and cannibalism.. Jerry Lynn Burns was finally arrested in October 2018 for the murder of Michelle Martinko, that took place 39 years prior. Vikings Ring of Honor Coach Jerry Burns passed away Wednesday at the age of 94. Her friend declined. Jerry Burns. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was arrested on Wednesday after police said he was linked by DNA from blood found on Michelle Martinko's clothing and elsewhere in the car at the crime scene. 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. Burns' wife, Patricia, died by suicide in . Denlinger said they were uploaded to GEDmatch by Parabon NanoLabs, a private company the department worked with. A hearing over whether to allow the evidence at trial continued Thursday for a second day. Unfortunately, Martinkos parents did not survive to see her killer brought to justice. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Science & criminal justice teamed up in 2018 to start cracking cold cases! Burns has hired a very high profile attorney and has said he plans to appeal his conviction, which was very largely based on the DNA evidence. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. At long last, in 2018, Jerry Lynn was caught and blamed for the teen's 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&E's executioner cases. Like all the cases I cover, Michelle's was solved using forensic genealogy, which led police to Jerry Lynn Burns. The Delaware County Sheriff's Office says Brian Burns remains an active missing person case but, at this point, has no link to his cousin. [9] Martinko was found inside collapsed over the passenger seat and stabbed to death. [11][18] In the year after the killing, the number of people interviewed by police reached the hundreds, and up to 30 people were interviewed under hypnosis. [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. Yeah, it's really really good! Dr. Obrecht Learns if She's a Bone Marrow Match for Willow Plus, Nikolas' Whereabouts Are Revealed. They . Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. The victim, Martinko, was an 18-year-old high school student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was visiting a mall to buy a winter coat. Parabon. He lived in Manchester at the time of his arrest in 2020 and owned a powder coating business in the city. At the time of the murder, Burns was 25 and lived in Manchester, Iowa. [2] A police spokesman said that "everyone's instinct is to say it was a guy", but they were not sure of the sex of the killer. [10] Police considered the killing to be "personal in nature" based on the number and location of stab wounds. The murder of Michelle Martinko in the parking lot of Cedar Rapids' Westdale Mall has some eerie connections to the Huisentruit case. Burns made an initial court appearance via video Thursday morning and said he would fill out an application for a court-appointed counsel. Jerry Burns Wife: Who Is He Married To? On the way, Burns continued to talk. According to Reusse, Burns would generally be a bit more careful with his language during a press conference or whenever there were cameras . He was around 25 when he killed Martinko in 1979. Convicted murderer Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko, 18. Authorities arrested 64-year-old Jerry Lynn Burns of Manchester this morning. "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. 20-1150). The judge ordered a $5 million cash bond, and Burns is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28. 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