Burns is Predictions were made for ancestry and facial features, police said. By the time of Burns' arrest, both of Martinko's parents had been gone for decades: Martinko'sfather died in 1995 and her mother in 1998. William Brangham: Turns out the murderer was a distant, distant relative of A pathologist said the fatal stab wound was to her heart and that she bled to death. Stonebrakersat in the front row of the courtroom, flanked by her husband, John, and oldest son, Robert. Of course I want those people, serial killers and murderers and terrible rapists, to be caught. Stonebraker said he is sad for the Burns family and wanted to 'wish them well.. Police said they were able to connect Burns to the case with DNA evidence. 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. The Kennedy High School senior had drivento the mall after a school choir banquet to shop for a new winter coat. Burns maintained his innocence in pretrial hearings and throughout the trial, but the jury took only three hours to reach a verdict after hearing DNA evidence. Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. The media showed up and then it was real. Martinko was a senior at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. Jerry Lynn Burns 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. The Cedar Rapids Police Department said in a Burns, who was convicted in February of killing Michelle Martinko in 1979, was sentenced to life in prison. of Northern Iowas iconic Campanile, Ladd Library in Cedar Rapids to host job fair. Jerry Lynn Burns, who was charged in the case of Michelle Martinko, as explained on 'Killer Cases,' was found guilty of murder, so where is he now? Jerry Lynn Burns' DNA sample was collected from a plastic straw he drank soda with. Follow reporter Anna Spoerreon Twitter at@annaspoerre. ", "We don't exactly know the whys and some of the details, but we definitely know who did it, and that was terribly important to us," Janelle Stonebraker, Michelle Martinko's older sister, said after the verdict was read. According to an affidavit, Birky, in a phone interview with an investigator who works for Spies, said she had been giving organ lessons to Martinko in 1979 at 'Carma Lou's House of Music. Martinko had lessons between 8:30 and 9 p.m., Birky said. Jerry Burns' mugshot and a family photo of Michelle Martinko. Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to appear Thursday in Linn County Court. After her death, authorities described Martinkos murder as personal in nature. Police also said that Martinko had defensive wounds, indicating that she had tried to fight her killer. A woman in Washington was linked to the suspect, and authorities eventually zeroed in on Burns. There had been no signs to indicate the killing had been a sexual assault or robbery. Hundreds of people were interviewed and countless leads were followed, police said a year after the slaying. Police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, in the decades-old fatal stabbing. Burns then turned toward his family, sitting in the courtroom, and thanked them for their support. How at-home DNA tests helped solve this 30-year-old murder, Use of online DNA databases by law enforcement leads to backlash and website changes. William Brangham, Nsikan Akpan We need those people to come forward and give us that information so we can bring closure to this case and to Michelles family., In announcing Burns arrest, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said, Last year, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Michelle Martinkos sister, Janelle, along with her husband, John Stonebraker.