Police have arrested a suspect in a brutal cold-case murder of a teenage girl 39 years to the day after she was stabbed to death.

Michelle Marie Martinko, 18, was found knifed to death in her family’s car in the Westdale Mall parking lot in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on December 20, 1979 – and no one has been arrested in the case until Thursday.

Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, was apprehended and charged with first-degree murder after authorities matched his DNA with blood samples found on the Martinko family car’s gear shift knob.

Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death in her car on December 20, 1979 (Photo: Cedar Rapids Police)

When he was interviewed Wednesday, Burns said he did not have any recollection of committing the killing.




For decades, the gruesome death of Michelle Martinko haunted her family – especially around Christmas-time, family members told The Des Moines Register.

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‘Christmases haven’t been a lot of fun, for a number of reasons,’ Martinko’s brother-in-law John Stonebraker said.

‘This year, it will be more of a joyous occasion.’

Stonebraker’s wife, Janelle, is Martinko’s older sister.

Jerry Burns was arrested for allegedly murdering Michelle Martinko 39 years ago (Photo: Cedar Rapids Police)

Her parents, Albert and Janet, died in 1995 and 1998, respectively.

According to police, Martinko was killed after she drove to the mall following a high school choir banquet to shop for a new winter coat.

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Authorities found her stabbed repeatedly in the face and chest – as well as on her hands which police said means she fought her killer.

Investigators were able to procure DNA evidence from the case in 2006 and said that the man who killed Martinko cut his hand and left blood behind.

Since that time, police secretly acquired DNA from Burns which they matched with evidence on file from the killing.

This is a clip of the original report of Martinko’s death in on December 20, 1979 (Photo: The Gazette)

Martinko was found stabbed in the face and chest in her family’s 1972 tan Buick (Photo: The Gazette)

Following Martinko’s death, police interviewed hundreds of people and offered a $10,000 reward as the investigation hit a wall – before going completely cold.

Although her family is pleased to have someone behind bars, they still want the US justice system to work its course.

‘Mr. Burns is presumed innocent, and we look forward to the evidence showing otherwise,’ said a statement from the family.

Police have not announced if any other evidence links Burns to the murder and he is being held on a $5 million cash bond.