CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A Manchester man has pleaded not guilty to killing a Cedar Rapids teen in 1979.
Records say 65-year-old Jerry Burns filed a written plea of not guilty to first degree murder on Friday in Linn County District Court. He remains in custody, pending $5 million bail.
Police arrested the Manchester business owner on December 19th… 39 years to the day after 18-year old Michelle Martinko was killed. Her body was found the next day inside her family’s car at a Cedar Rapids mall.
Police say investigators matched a blood sample from the crime scene with a sample taken from Burns.
The start date for Burns’ trial has not yet been set.
