For nearly 40 years, the family of slain Iowa high schooler Michelle Martinko waited for an arrest. Then for proof. Then for a verdict. The wait ended Monday.
The wait ended Monday, when a jury convicted Jerry Lynn Burns of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of 18-year-old Martinko. It was a case, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said,"that has haunted our community for decades."
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 Martinko's slaying. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Across the aisle, the benches behind Burns were packed to the brim. His family and friends remained seated after Martinko’s family left the courtroom.
Leads in the case resulted in dead ends until investigators used a genetic genealogy website to connect Burns' DNA to the crime scene. Decades of technological advancements ultimately allowed experts to construct a partial male DNA profile from a blood scraping on the gear shift of the Martinko family car and a blood stain on the back of Martinko’s dress.
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.
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