Iowa Man Will Plead Not Guilty To Teen's 1979 Slaying
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- The attorney for a man charged with the 1979 slaying of a Cedar Rapids high school student says his client will plead not guilty.
Leon Spies is the attorney for Jerry Lynn Burns, and Spies told The Des Moines Register Thursday that Burns will enter the plea at his arraignment. The 64-year-old Burns is being held on $5 million bail .
Police arrested the Manchester resident on Dec. 19, charging him with first-degree murder 39 years to the day after 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed. Her body was found early the next day inside her family's car parked at a shopping mall.
She had stab wounds to her face and chest.
Police say they matched a blood sample from the crime scene with a sample taken from the suspect.
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