Killed September 8, 1989 More than 30 years later, Fisher's estranged . Evelyns body was found in the Cedar River five days after she went missing. Highway 150 near 118th St. Police solve 50-year-old Iowa cold case killing. 1781 Quarry Road, Apt. Five-year-old Evelyn Miller was reported missing on July 1, 2005, from the Floyd, Iowa apartment her mother, Noel Miller, shared with her fianc, Casey Frederiksen. On January 25, 2016, Christopher Joseph Yenger, 28, of Ottumwa, and Zachary Allen Dye, 27, of Council Bluffs, were arrested and each charged with two counts of Felony Murder. [16] Another rumor emerged that a second stabbing had happened in the following days and that police were keeping it secret, which police denied. [9][2], Police had few leads and appealed to the public for tips. Body Found: 800 block W. Riverside Drive During the original investigation, detectives compiled a list of more than 80 potential suspects. Robert Beaver sentenced Sept. 1, 2016, to 20 years in prison. Iowa Cold Cases has put together case summaries, articles, and updates regarding the many unsolved murders and missing persons all throughout Iowa. On Oct. 23, 2013, Story County jurors acquitted Mitchell on both the murder and robbery charges. According to a statement Des Moines police posted to Facebook Tuesday, William Billy Rulli, 35, who currently is serving time in a state penitentiary for first-degree burglary, has confessed to the murder. Lee County October 7, 2021. Police arrested Jerry Lynn Burns, 64, on Wednesday morning, Dec. 19, 2018, in the decades-old fatal stabbing. Case Number: 84-01854 Shed been strangled. One man was in his 50s and the other was maybe in his 30s, and investigators believe the two men worked together to kill Brian and rob the store, the Gazette reported. 33 YOA GONE COLD: EXPLORING IOWA'S UNSOLVED MURDERS; RECENT NEWS; News Archives 2019; NEWS ARCHIVES 2018; NEWS ARCHIVES 2017; NEWS ARCHIVES 2016; NEWS ARCHIVES 2015; . Upon review of the report, the Iowa Attorney Generals Office and the Tama County Attorneys office convened a grand jury to review evidence and testimony. If you'd like to reprint a post or case summary, please contact us with the name of the requested post/article. She was convicted on the testimony of a girl who was 9 when she claims to have overheard this confession. The Cascade County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday that it has closed the. Police found 18-year-oldMartinko her face and chest stabbed repeatedly at 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, 1979, in her familys tan 1972 Buick in Cedar Rapids Westdale Mall parking lot. Cora Ann Okonski, a 23-year-old young mother engaged to be married the following month, went missing from her Tama, Iowa, home around 9 p.m. on Palm Sunday, April 16, 2000. 51 YOA He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Michael is charged with homicide by vehicle-reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident death. At this point Hibbler then shot Canfield in the head on the front porch. Guilty Verdict: May 24, 2017. Or maybe chat. Burns, who was 25 when Martinko died, made his first court appearance Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, in Linn County. Sentencing: August 7, 2020, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. FBI SAYS ZODIAC CASE REMAINS OPEN AFTER INDEPENDENT GROUP SAYS IT HAS ID'D KILLER. On Monday, July 15, 2013, Mason City police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation held a press conference stating that Michael Jason Cisneros, 37, formerly of Mason City, had been charged with first-degree murder in John Snyder Jr.s death. The perp was born in September 1955, and at age 18 he was already making the news for his criminal acts. 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. On Feb. 1, 2018, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. (Courtesy Council Bluffs Police Department). Her mother, Nancy Raney of Carson, Iowa, reported her as missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 16, 2012. Verdict: Reached Sept. 19, 2019 Annette Cahill found Guilty of second-degree murder. [26] He was not able to provide an explanation for why his DNA would have been present at the crime scene. A double homicide of two teens in Montana has been solved after more than 60 years thanks to forensic genealogy. I hope that it gives them a little peace. At 11 p.m. Sunday, May 1, 2011, three men Courtland Clark, 26, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, Robert Beaver, 35, of Sioux City, and Devery Hibbler, 26, of Dumas, Arkansas entered the 1401 George St., Sioux City apartment belonging to Dana and Tony Canfield in order to rob Tony of his marijuana and cash. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KWWL) -- The Cedar Rapids Police Cold Case Unit on Tuesday confirmed a DNA match for a suspect in the murder of 17-year-old Maureen Brubaker Farley. Canfield fought back and managed to escape by running out the front door. Wienekes fiance, Jody Hotz, also of West Liberty, last saw him alive around 8:15 a.m. that morning and discovered his beaten body in his bedroom at 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. On Friday, September 24, 1971, two young boys out hunting discovered a womans body atop the trunk lid of an abandoned car in a wooded ravine off Ely Road near Cedar Rapids southwest edge. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene and, after multiple life-saving attempts, Estling was pronounced dead at the scene. Date of Crime: September 24, 1995 Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 04:20, "Michelle Martinko's murder 'haunted' the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said that while the case is now considered closed, his office would leave the door open to entertain new leads if they become available. A fisherman discovered her body Tuesday afternoon in the Mississippi River, floating in a small cove near the Southside Boat Club. The company also produced approximations of how the man would have aged in the years since the crime. Sentenced: On Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand found Mitchell premeditated and intentionally killed Stickley, and robbed her to buy crack cocaine April 29, 2011. Through investigation and DNA technology, the Cedar Rapids Police Department Cold Case Unit identified and confirmed on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, George M. Smith as the suspect in the homicide case. The. says the arrest in her cold case brings them joy just before Christmas. This page is dedicated to the many past and present investigators who never gave up on seeing justice served for the victim and his or her family. However, the case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on. Blog Crime Date: January 12, 1981 On Monday, March 3, 2014 exactly 31 years to the day when Melisa and Stevens bodies were found the Jasper County Sheriffs Office held a press conference to announce theyd arrested Fishers estranged wife, Terri Supino, and charged her with two counts of first-degree murder. Police interviewed numerous people, and several were cleared of suspicion through use of a polygraph. Clark and Hibbler also pleaded guilty to one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. Case #: 04SME155 Mason City, IA Arrest Made: March 3, 2014 Judith Kay Weeks, a 44-year-old mother of two, was last seen alive on Sunday morning, April 4, 1999. Nissen was the "Jane Doe," found murdered in a ditch in Northwest. On Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, a judge agreed to relocate the trial to Scott County, stating in a filing that pretrial publicity made it unlikely Burns could receive a fair trial in Linn County. She was partially clothed with no shoes. [8][9] She attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was an above average student and well regarded by school officials. Arrest Made: December 9, 2016 [2][23] On December 19, 2018, investigators went to Burns' business in Manchester, Iowa, to interview him. On Thursday, May 31, 2018, Annette Dee Cahill, 55, of Tipton, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Wienekes killing. Courtland Clark sentenced Sept. 7, 2016, to 21 years in prison. Didnt know he had a daughter. The police never received the information, and the woman did not contact police until months later, when they reissued a call for any information connected to the murder. Here is a link to the perps appeal (which the perp lost). Iowa Cold Cases Linn County According to Project: Cold Case, there were roughly 2,870 murders in Iowa between 1980 and 2019. Although there are a handful of cases from the hawkeye state that gripped the nation many have gone years without notice. [10] Police considered the killing to be "personal in nature" based on the number and location of stab wounds. The only apparent injury was a wound to Weeks forehead caused by a bladed object, according to a police affidavit filed with an application to search her apartment at 1002 Fifth St. 10 [2][4][27], In pretrial hearings, Burns' attorneys claimed that police needed a search warrant to gather his DNA from the discarded straw, but the judge determined that discarded property cannot reasonably be considered private. Sentencing: March 22, 2019. Smith was an acquaintance of Farleys at the diner where she worked. In the early morning hours on July 31, 2003, Nelson Selena Alvarez-Hernandez, 33, was stabbed to death in front of an apartment building at 1613 So. [25] He refused to voluntarily provide a sample of DNA, but was compelled to do so with a search warrant. Linn County [9] She was last seen almost 9p.m. outside of a jewelry store in the mall. Detectives found no weapon or fingerprints to identify a suspect and said Martinko had not been robbed. Bellevue police said officers were summoned to the house about 1 p.m. Sunday, where they found Remakel deceased inside the residence. Oakdale campus employees found DeWoodys body shortly after sunrise Tuesday near the campus general hospital parking lot. Date of Crime: Sept. 20, 1997 Seth Anderson, 22, and Nathan Messer, 20, who were sleeping on the second floor of the home, never made it out and died from smoke inhalation. The indictment alleges that, on or around May 31, 2014, the three persons named conspired to, and then did, rob Booher of methamphetamine that he posessed and the proceeds from the sale of meth. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa. On Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018 the 39th anniversary of Michelle Martinkos brutal murder Cedar Rapids police announced theyd made an arrest in her unsolved homicide. Prosecutors said they did so through means of actual and threatened force. He then contacted a member of a third branch, and a DNA test determined that they were first cousins with the killer. His pickup was found parked about 70 yards away. [2], On October 29, 2018, an investigator observed one of the brothers, Jerry Lynn Burns, drink multiple sodas using a plastic straw. Originally started as part of a reporting project, Ewing found herself in shock when she had to put her own step-father on the website. [11] As the investigation dwindled, a $10,000 reward was offered for information that would lead police to the killer. Crime Date: December 25, 2016 Date of Crime: October 7, 2008 (Courtesy Council Bluffs Police via Greg Gunsalus). At first, detectives werent sure if Golinsky was killed or whether he had perhaps died by suicide or accident, Law & Crime reported Oct. 26. The prosecution emphasized the unlikelihood of the DNA evidence matching someone other than the person who left it at the scene. Estranged Husband, Michael Syperda, arrested and charged Nov. 30, 2017, with first-degree murder Case Number: 14011355 He pleaded guilty to that charge in 2018. Date of Crime: April 16, 2000 A triple homicide committed 50 years ago has been solved after the Watauga County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina received information revealed by . Pilcher will receive credit for the two years served since his arrest, and also will quality for reductions for good behavior. SOLVED; NEWS. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Susan Kersten, a 38-year-old gifted artist and divorced mother of four including 1-year-old twin daughters was killed in Iowa City on Sunday, Sept. 24, 1995, sometime after returning home from a family reunion. There was NO physical evidence linking her to the crime. Martinko then asked another acquaintance to go to the mall with her; that friend said yes at first but later changed her mind. Muscatine County Arrest Date: May 31, 2018 Sentencing: August 23, 2018, sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, Michael Lee Syperda (Courtesy Quad-City Times). The case was closed without prosecution because Smith died in 2013 at the age of 94, police said. Golyar chose a bench trial over a jury trial. Jody Ewing is the founder of Iowa Cold Cases, a website dedicated to cold cases around the state. Cedar Rapids police have identified Maureen Brubaker Farley's killer as George M. Smith. Johnson was arrested in Cedar Rapids after being released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons after serving about five years for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. Trial Began in Scott County: February 10, 2020 [2], On December 19, 2018, exactly 39 years after Martinko's murder, Burns was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. "I am happy Michelle finally gets justice. The men responsible for Tony "T-Bone" Canfield's death pled guilty today in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa. Investigating Agency: Fayette County Sheriffs Office He began to search for her, as did the police. Cedar Rapids, IA Corey Wieneke, 22, was found bludgeoned to death in his rural West Liberty home on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 1992. I think it is great there is justice be served for these lost people!!! About Exactly 39 years after Michelle Marie Martinko was killed and left in her family's car in a Cedar . William Rulli (Courtesy Des Moines Police). Linn County Killed Near: Fayette, Iowa Burtch was scheduled to face trial Feb. 7, 2017, but in January 2017, he entered a guilty plea to obstructing prosecution, a misdemeanor, and the murder charges against him were dropped. Killed: June 28, 2018 Johnson County Tentative Trial Date: Feb. 24, 2020. The story did not end there. 2216 27th Avenue, Rm #106 The woman communicated her information to the daughter of the secretary of the Public Safety Commissioner and believed that it would be passed on to police if it was important. The court immediately put a protection order in place. Date of Conviction: July 1, 2014. Clark and Hibbler each pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. Fremont County Tests eliminated the other two brothers as suspects, but the DNA from Burns' straw matched the blood found on Martinko's clothing. Victims for whom there was no justice, no resolution or answers. She had been shot once in the head and once in the heart at close range with a high-powered rifle. At approximately 6:33 a.m. on March 5, 2006, a neighbor observed smoke and flames coming from the residence of 11612 140th Street. Johnson was taken to the Webster County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. Drakesville, IA (Davis County) Two weeks after the verdict, a judge found Turney in contempt of court over her handling of the Michael Cisneros murder trial. In that year, Sherri Miller and Pam Jackson, both 17, disappeared while driving on rural roads to a party at a gravel pit in a 1960 Studebaker Lark. Updated: Jun 8, 2021 / 10:10 PM CDT SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Declared Legally Dead: Oct. 10, 2011 [28], After two days of jury selection, the murder trial began on February 12, 2020. Cedar Rapids, IA old) of Dubuque, Iowa, became a suspect and an arrest warrant was issued on May 17, 2018. Conviction Date: July 11, 2013. Mitchell was sentenced to the maximum term of 20 years in prison. 56 YOA On June 23, 2016 he entered an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. Arrest Made: Dec. 22, 2016 Burns made his first court appearance Thursday morning, Dec. 20, 2018, in Linn County. Market data provided by Factset. 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.[2]. Hit-and-Run Homicide He described her family as grateful for their efforts. Police on Friday announced that DNA evidence confirmed Thomas O. Freeman as the man who fatally stabbed Lee Rotatori inside of her hotel room in the summer of 1982. 41 YOA According to an email Callahans granddaughter, Trish Hall, sent to Iowa Cold Cases on Jan. 12, 2014, her grandmother was bludgeoned and placed in the river. Case Closed/Solved: On Oct. 5, 2021, police announced DNA had helped identify her killer, George M. Smith, who died in 2013. During a pretrial conference Wednesday morning, Aug. 27, 2014, Judge Terry Rickers said there would be substantial prejudice against 54-year-old Theresa Lynn Terri Supino if her trial were held in the Newton or Des Moines areas, and the trial was moved to Black Hawk County. 10, Mississippi Terrace in Keokuk, was last seen alive at 10:30 p.m. Monday, June 14, 2004. Ridnour is also listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for a 2013 conviction of disseminating obscene materials to a female age 13 or under. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. An autopsy report determined she had been sexually assaulted and struck in the head, causing a skull fracture that killed her. Sac County Burns maintained that he did not know Martinko and was not there when she died, although an investigator later testified that Burns did not specifically deny killing Martinko. Would like to see one. Charged: Christopher Johnson, 49, of Cedar Rapids. In December 2016, Preston was found shot to death in a field near Johnson Avenue and 225th Street. Date of Crime: July 20, 1994 [2] That narrowed the suspects down to a set of three brothers, who had grown up in Manchester, Iowa. Mitchell was sentenced Monday, Jan. 23, 2023 in U.S. District Court to the maximum term of 20 years in prison. University of Iowa Wapello County Brian Davis was arrested Oct. 29, 2014 and charged with first-degree murder in Hollys death. SE Trial Began: May 10, 2017 In jesus name i pray Amen. Waterloo, IA On February 23, 2017, Burtch was sentenced to six months in jail with credit for time served. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, Robert Gene Pilcher, 68, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Mary Jaynes death. Firefighters discovered Hooks body about 4:30 p.m. after theyd extinguished the fire. Conviction Date: April 3, 2015. When Burns disposed of the straw, the investigator collected it and tested it for DNA. In March 2020, CRPD said the Cold Case Unit was contacted by the Stanislaus County Sheriffs Department to say Roberts, who was being held in Wasco State Prison, seemed to be attempting to confess to a murder in Cedar Rapids in 2011. Investigators had linked Cisneros to the crime via solid DNA evidence found on the toddlers pajama bottoms. On Wednesday, May 10, 2017, jurors found Purk guilty of first-degree murder. His initial target was Meeks brother, Andrew, who was shot and killed in a separate incident in 2017. Arrest Made: May 5, 2020 The following day, her body was discovered in the back yard of a vacant apartment house at 1319 Second Ave. His trial was originally scheduled for October 14, 2019, but in September the defense requested a delay in order to gather more evidence and interview witnesses. Michael Syperda Found Guilty: June 25, 2018 A woman thought she recognized the picture of the victim shown on TV as her ex-husband and called Des Moines police, but was incorrectly told the body was that of a Hispanic male. Investigators had reviewed Burns' 2018 internet searches and found that he regularly visited websites showing blonde women being raped, stabbed, and strangled, and which depicted sexual intercourse with murder victims. Thank you in advance! The cremains were presented to McMahons ex-wife Nancy and family Nov. 12, 2014, and Dr. Schmunck credited both WHO-TV and Iowa Cold Cases for helping to solve the case. [15], On the evening of December 19, 1979, Martinko attended a banquet for the Kennedy Concert Choir at the Sheraton Inn in Cedar Rapids. The Linn County medical examiner ruled Farley had been dead no less than 48 hours and no more than 96 hours, and said death was caused by a massive blow to the right side of her head, causing a basal skull fracture. Cole, 48, entered an Alford plea and on Thursday, July 11, 2013, was sentenced in Clinton County District Court to 10 years on one count of voluntary manslaughter and 5 years for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. She was a lively lady who just had knee surgery and took her dog with her everywhere, Hall said of her grandmother. Conviction Date: March 10, 2015. Arrest Made: Feb. 3, 2023 It happened about 2-1/2 miles south of Fayette. Arrest Made: May 18, 2018 An examination showed she was stabbed at least eight times. Wounds on the teens hands showed she fought her killer, but the medical examiners office said Martinko was found fully clothed and had not been sexually molested. On July 14, 2014 just six days before the cases 20th anniversary Cerro Gordo County jurors acquitted Cisneros, despite the DNA evidence, after public defender Letitia Turney based her entire defense not on her clients innocence but by defaming the boys father to make him appear responsible for the crime. Killed: June 26, 2011 Case Closed: September 6, 2019. This helps me find some peace of mind. More coverage from the Des Moines Register. No other issues were discussed. Missouri authorities executed Six in 1997 for the 1987 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Kathy Allen. On Sept. 7, 2016, Courtland Clark was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in Tony Canfields death. In February 2022, authorities announced they finally solved Rotatori's murder using evidence collected from the crime scene in 1982. CLA8RC@AOL.COM. From: Maynard, Iowa Jasper County Attorney Steve Johnson acknowledged there was some known drug activity in the area, but said he personally believed the murders were up close and personal.. [2] She did not have many close girlfriends or confidantes, which was speculated to be caused by jealousy from other students over her beauty and stylish clothes[11] or conflict over a boy she had dated. Killed: October 24, 2012 [2] The police received more than 100 tips following the release of the new images. In 2018, the company entered the DNA data from the case into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match. [7] Martinko was the younger of two daughters of Albert F. Martinko and Janet Martinko (ne Zillig). And they are dead, he said, never to face criminal charges. Bellevue, Iowa Case Number: S12-021291 More than 17 years after Liz Syperda went missing, her estranged husband, Michael Lee Syperda, 52, was arrested Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in Rifle, Colorado, near Glenwood Springs, and charged with first-degree murder in his wifes death, despite his wifes body never being found. In November 2014, the woman checked out the story again on the iowacoldcases.org website, and was sure the body belonged to her ex-husband, Robert Bryan McMahon. On Feb. 20, 2015, Black Hawk County jurors acquitted Supino in both counts of first-degree murder. When the roommate returned at 4 a.m. the following morning, Elizabeth was gone, though she did not have access to a car and all her personal belongings were left behind. Conviction Date: June 7, 2012. Webster County [2] Police determined from the lack of blood outside the car that Martinko had been killed while in the car, and the medical examiner later estimated she had died between 8 and 10p.m.[17] The murder weapon was "sharp-pointed" but not definitively a knife, and the medical examiner could not determine its size. Firozeh Dehghanpour. 1319 Second Ave. Maureen Brubaker-Farley was reported missing on Sept. 20, 1971. A grand jury returned a True Bill indictment on Tait Otis Purk, 50, for the crime of Murder in the First Degree in violation of Section 707.2(1) of the Code of Iowa. Approx. He is currently being housed in the Jackson County Jail. Arson Investigation 17 YOA Date Charges Filed: Sept. 27, 2012

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