Frozen in Time: Michelle Martinko’s Case

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Frozen in Time: Michelle Martinko’s Case

On a frigid December night in 1979, a crime in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, would haunt the community for decades. Eighteen-year-old Michelle Martinko — bright, stylish, and full of promise — left her home to shop for a winter coat at the newly opened Westdale Mall. She never came home. Hours later, she was found brutally murdered in the family car. What followed was not just an investigation, but a 39-year journey of frustration, hope, and, eventually, groundbreaking justice.




Michelle Martinko: A Life Interrupted

Michelle was a senior at Kennedy High School, known for her beauty, her love of fashion, and her bright future. On December 19, 1979, she attended her school’s choir banquet before heading to the mall to look at coats. Friends remembered her wearing a shimmering gold dress, standing out even in a crowd.

But when the evening stretched late and Michelle didn’t return, her parents grew worried. By morning, their fears were realized.




The Discovery at Westdale Mall

Police located the Martinko family’s Buick in the mall parking lot. Inside, Michelle was found slumped over the passenger seat, stabbed more than 20 times. The attack was vicious and personal, shocking a community unaccustomed to such brutality.

Investigators immediately suspected she had fought back. Her hands showed defensive wounds, and blood patterns inside the car suggested a struggle. Crucially, evidence at the scene included blood smears that didn’t seem to belong to Michelle.




Forensics in 1979: A Different World

It’s important to remember how limited forensic science was at the time. In 1979, investigators couldn’t run DNA tests. Instead, they relied on blood typing and enzyme markers to determine whether bloodstains came from one person or multiple sources.

They also scraped beneath Michelle’s fingernails — a standard practice even then — hoping to find skin or blood from her attacker. While this evidence couldn’t identify a suspect back then, it would prove critical years later.

Despite these efforts, and countless interviews, the case quickly grew cold.




Decades of Frustration

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, detectives revisited Michelle’s murder again and again. Every so often, advances in forensic testing offered new hope. Partial DNA profiles were eventually developed from the evidence, but without a direct match in CODIS, the national database, investigators were left staring at a dead end.

The case became one of Iowa’s most infamous cold cases. For Michelle’s family, every year was a painful reminder that her killer was still free.




2018: A Breakthrough with Forensic Genealogy

Everything changed in 2018. Inspired by the methods that had just solved the Golden State Killer case, Cedar Rapids investigators turned to forensic genealogy.

By uploading the DNA profile from the crime scene into public genealogy databases, experts were able to construct a family tree of potential relatives. After weeks of meticulous work, one name emerged: Jerry Burns, a man who lived just an hour away.

Burns had no criminal record. He was a businessman, a father, and by all appearances, an ordinary member of the community. But when investigators covertly collected his DNA from a drinking straw, the results were undeniable: it matched the DNA left in Michelle’s car.




The Trial of Jerry Burns

In December 2018, nearly 39 years to the day after Michelle’s murder, Jerry Burns was arrested. The news shocked Cedar Rapids and reopened wounds for Michelle’s family and friends.

At his trial in 2020, prosecutors presented the DNA evidence alongside testimony about Michelle’s final night. They also highlighted Burns’ unsettling internet searches for “murder” and “blonde girls” in the years leading up to his arrest.

Burns never confessed, nor did he offer any explanation for why his DNA was at the crime scene. The jury, however, was convinced. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.




A Case Finally Closed

For Michelle’s loved ones, the verdict brought a bittersweet sense of closure. Justice had finally been served, but the cost was decades of waiting.

The case remains a powerful example of how persistence and science can combine to solve even the coldest of cases. What was once “frozen in time” now stands as a reminder that, in the end, the truth can emerge — even after nearly forty years.




Why Michelle’s Story Matters

Michelle Martinko’s case is more than just a tragic story of a young woman’s life cut short. It’s also a turning point in forensic history. Her murder illustrates both the limitations of 1970s investigative tools and the astonishing possibilities unlocked by modern DNA and genealogy.

For listeners and readers alike, Michelle’s story is a haunting reminder of resilience, both for families who never give up hope and for detectives who refuse to close the book on a case — no matter how much time has passed.





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See you in the next episode of Crime Clueless!



Resources:

News Coverage (Contemporary & Archival)




Key Articles (Recent Coverage)

  • CBS News – “Jerry Burns convicted in 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko” (January 2020).
  • NBC News – “Iowa man sentenced to life in prison for 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko” (February 2020).
  • CNN – “After nearly 40 years, jury convicts Iowa man in 1979 cold case murder” (February 2020).
  • The Gazette – “The Michelle Martinko case: 39 years of heartbreak and investigation” (December 2018).
  • Associated Press (AP) – syndicated reporting on the arrest, trial, and sentencing.




Court & Legal Documents




Forensic & Genealogy Resources

  • Parabon NanoLabs – general overview of forensic genealogy methods (used in the Martinko case and others).
  • Journal of Forensic Sciences – articles on the history of DNA use in cold cases.
  • National Institute of Justice (NIJ) – resources on the development of forensic serology in the 1970s and the transition to DNA.
  • ISHI (International Symposium on Human Identification) conference presentations on cold case breakthroughs.
  • The New Yorker – How Your Family Tree Could Catch a Killer (excellent on genetic genealogy breakthroughs).




Podcasts & Documentaries

  • Dateline NBC – episode on Michelle Martinko’s murder (“Before Midnight,” aired 2020).
  • 20/20 (ABC) – coverage of genealogy breakthroughs including the Martinko case.
  • DNA: ID (podcast) – detailed episode on Michelle Martinko and forensic genealogy.
  • Casefile Podcast – case #126 “Michelle Martinko” (in-depth storytelling with case detail).
  • True Crime Daily – video coverage and trial commentary.




Books / Long-form Reading




Official Statements




Multimedia / Video




Academic / Contextual

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