The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied a request for further testing of evidence by a man convicted of killing four people in Black Hawk County 37 years ago. Jerry Mark was convicted on four counts of first-dgree murder in the killings of his brother, sister-in-law and their two children at their rural Black Hawk County farmhouse on Halloween night of 1976.
Mark has continually fought the convictions. His most recent appeal requested post conviction relief, asking for more advanced DNA testing of cigarette butts found at the scene, and a hearing on ballistic evidence used against him. The district court denied the request for more DNA testing, and the Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, saying advanced testing would not impact the outcome.
The court also ruled that Mark had a chance to request a hearing on the accuracy of the testing of the bullets in the case but did not do so in the required time.
See the full opinion here: Mark ruling PDF
