CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A judge has barred from trial evidence that a man charged with killing a high school girl in Iowa more than 40 years ago searched the internet in the past few years for stories about assault, rape and murder. Jerry Burns, 66, is scheduled to go on trial Monday in Davenport, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the Dec. 19, 1979, slaying of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko. Her body was found the next day inside her family’s car at a Cedar Rapids mall. She had been stabbed in the face and chest.

Source: Washington Post February 06, 2020 15:33 UTC