OkieGranny
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http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/cold-case-spotlight/cold-case-spotlight-michelle-martinko-n275866
It was at the height of the holiday shopping season in December of 1979 when high school senior Michelle Martinko was stabbed to death in the parking lot of Westdale Mall. The 18-year-old had not been robbed or sexually assaulted, but had been stabbed several times to her face...
Martinko was last seen driving to the mall after a school choir banquet on December 19th, 1979, to shop for a new winter coat. Police found her body in her family's Buick early the next morning. No weapon, fingerprints, or any other clues identifying any possible suspects were found.
Nearly 27 years later in 2006, a new cold case detective with the Cedar Rapids Police Department discovered what he believes to be the killers blood. Although Doug Larison hasn't released where he found it or how he knows it belongs to Martinko's killer, he told the Gazette he is certain the blood came from a cut on the killer's hands.
http://www.cbs2iowa.com/news/featur...xclusive-killed-michelle-martinko-32593.shtml
Janelle says the savage nature of the attack made it appear very personal, like someone in a jealous rage, "It was brutal, a violent struggle in that car. The police said that she was stabbed 19 times, in the face, in the chest, with defensive wounds on her hands"...
Investigators say in the violent frenzy inside the car, the killer apparently stabbed himself and likely had a large gash. DNA testing in recent years on the blood left behind has cleared more than 70 people that Michelle knew and thousands more in prison databases all across the country.
http://thegazette.com/2009/12/20/30-years-ago-murder-of-teen-haunts-those-who-knew-her/
My mother was a very emotional person, she felt everything deeply, and it destroyed her, Stonebraker said. My father was consumed with anger, wanted to get the person. My mother just missed Michelle. It absolutely destroyed their lives.
Michelle was born when her mother was 44. She was a gift to the family, Stonebraker said, after her parents had spent years trying to have a second child...
Martinko was a tall, willowy girl with definite plans to attend Iowa State University and study fashion design, her sister said. She worked at a clothing store in Westdale, sang in the choir, acted in plays and performed in musicals. She was popular with boys but had kind of a rough time with girls over one of the boys she started dating in the months before she died, her sister said.