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Man gets life with no parole in 1979 murder of Iowa woman

Jerry Burns

Police have said they arrested Burns after DNA taken from a restaurant straw he had used matched DNA from the crime scene.

Posted: Aug 8, 2020 7:10 AM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole in the 1979 murder of an 18-year-old high school student.

Jerry Burns was arrested in Dec. 19 2018, 39 years to the day after Michelle Martinko was found dead in her parents’ car outside a shopping mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

She had been stabbed to death.

Burns was convicted of first-degree murder in February and was sentenced on Friday.

Cedar Rapids police have said they arrested Burns after DNA taken from a restaurant straw he had used matched DNA from the crime scene.

Minnesota Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 453808

Reported Deaths: 6131

County	Cases	Deaths
Hennepin	94138	1495
Ramsey	40509	748
Dakota	33463	350
Anoka	31283	368
Washington	20471	234
Stearns	18051	190
St. Louis	13916	247
Scott	12130	98
Wright	11756	107
Olmsted	10739	75
Sherburne	8278	68
Carver	7031	39
Clay	6576	84
Rice	6211	70
Kandiyohi	5567	72
Blue Earth	5468	33
Crow Wing	4891	78
Otter Tail	4631	67
Chisago	4581	38
Benton	4232	88
Winona	3942	48
Douglas	3784	66
Nobles	3744	47
Mower	3721	29
Goodhue	3553	62
Polk	3306	60
McLeod	3279	47
Beltrami	3150	48
Morrison	3141	45
Lyon	3047	38
Becker	2888	39
Itasca	2871	43
Isanti	2848	42
Carlton	2835	43
Steele	2785	10
Pine	2696	14
Freeborn	2536	23
Todd	2331	30
Nicollet	2279	38
Brown	2174	34
Mille Lacs	2150	45
Le Sueur	2135	16
Cass	2105	24
Meeker	2012	33
Waseca	1928	16
Wabasha	1741	3
Martin	1717	26
Roseau	1663	17
Hubbard	1502	38
Redwood	1410	27
Houston	1398	14
Dodge	1386	4
Renville	1380	40
Chippewa	1323	32
Cottonwood	1289	18
Fillmore	1264	6
Wadena	1202	18
Rock	1119	12
Aitkin	1112	33
Sibley	1094	7
Faribault	1088	16
Watonwan	1068	8
Pennington	1010	16
Kanabec	993	18
Pipestone	964	23
Yellow Medicine	949	16
Murray	909	6
Jackson	873	10
Swift	844	18
Pope	746	5
Stevens	707	8
Marshall	703	15
Clearwater	687	14
Lake	663	15
Lac qui Parle	660	16
Wilkin	634	9
Koochiching	603	10
Lincoln	489	2
Big Stone	469	3
Unassigned	445	68
Grant	438	8
Norman	425	8
Mahnomen	414	7
Kittson	373	20
Red Lake	320	4
Traverse	261	3
Lake of the Woods	196	1
Cook	115	0

Iowa Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 310915

Reported Deaths: 4432

County	Cases	Deaths
Polk	46760	465
Linn	18037	279
Scott	15838	172
Black Hawk	14076	243
Woodbury	13111	181
Johnson	12285	52
Dubuque	11615	159
Pottawattamie	9146	115
Dallas	9077	72
Story	8794	38
Cerro Gordo	4725	72
Webster	4720	77
Sioux	4596	57
Warren	4580	39
Clinton	4577	68
Marshall	4307	62
Buena Vista	3962	30
Muscatine	3958	78
Des Moines	3949	43
Plymouth	3528	70
Wapello	3498	98
Jasper	3316	59
Lee	3241	32
Marion	3089	53
Jones	2746	50
Henry	2673	31
Carroll	2582	34
Bremer	2498	48
Crawford	2343	24
Washington	2229	33
Boone	2227	17
Benton	2130	50
Mahaska	1976	37
Jackson	1949	32
Tama	1901	59
Dickinson	1883	29
Kossuth	1785	44
Delaware	1760	36
Clay	1720	21
Wright	1666	24
Fayette	1659	24
Hamilton	1622	30
Buchanan	1620	24
Winneshiek	1608	20
Harrison	1581	62
Hardin	1569	31
Cedar	1555	19
Clayton	1538	49
Butler	1509	24
Page	1464	15
Floyd	1414	36
Cherokee	1400	27
Mills	1385	17
Lyon	1375	33
Poweshiek	1349	24
Hancock	1315	24
Allamakee	1309	30
Iowa	1277	22
Madison	1236	10
Calhoun	1234	9
Grundy	1225	28
Jefferson	1221	25
Winnebago	1217	29
Mitchell	1168	37
Louisa	1162	30
Cass	1148	43
Chickasaw	1137	12
Appanoose	1124	40
Sac	1120	15
Emmet	1112	32
Union	1110	23
Humboldt	1066	19
Shelby	1054	27
Guthrie	1042	24
Franklin	1033	18
Unassigned	1011	0
Palo Alto	917	11
Montgomery	883	24
Keokuk	863	26
Howard	855	19
Monroe	822	20
Clarke	810	8
Pocahontas	781	11
Ida	759	30
Davis	701	21
Greene	697	7
Adair	696	20
Monona	670	18
Lucas	666	10
Osceola	647	11
Worth	618	4
Taylor	599	9
Fremont	524	6
Van Buren	502	15
Decatur	496	4
Ringgold	448	11
Audubon	421	8
Wayne	419	21
Adams	299	3