Jerry Burns.(file photo)
The Iowa Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a Manchester man convicted in the cold case murder of a Cedar Rapids teen at a local Mall.
Jerry Burns was found guilty in 2020 of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. The case had been cold until police grabbed a straw Burns used at a restaurant and the DNA on it matched DNA found on Martinko’s dress and car. Burns argued the evidence on the straw should have been suppressed as it violated his Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the Fourth Amendment does not apply as Burns made no effort to “preserve” the straw “as private,” and left it on the table at the restaurant. Two of the justices did write dissenting opinions with lengthy discussions about whether the Fourth Amendment applies to DNA.