Murder of Michelle Martinko

The murder of Michelle Martinko occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, on December 19, 1979. It was a cold case until 2018, when familial DNA identified a suspect 39 years after the crime who was charged, tried and convicted of her murder.

In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. A DNA profile was developed from that evidence and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were found. In 2017, a company specializing in DNA phenotyping was hired to produce a new approximation of the killer's appearance based solely off the DNA sample. In 2018, the company entered the DNA data from the case into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match.

In October 2018, DNA was covertly collected from an Iowa man, Jerry Lynn Burns, and was found to match the sample discovered on Martinko's clothing. Burns was arrested and, on February 24, 2020, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Martinko. On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Provided by Wikipedia