Manchester Man’s Appeal of Cold Case Murder Conviction Denied

The Iowa Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a Manchester man convicted in the cold case murder of a Cedar Rapids teen.

Jerry Burns was found guilty in 2020 of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In December 1979, Martinko was found dead in her parents’ car in the parking lot of Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. The case had been cold for 40 years until police grabbed a straw Burns used at the Pizza Ranch in Manchester. The DNA on the straw matched DNA found on Martinko’s dress and car. 

Burns argued the evidence on the straw should have been suppressed as it violated his Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search. 

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the Fourth Amendment does not apply as Burns made no effort to “preserve” the straw “as private,” and left it on the table at the restaurant.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa