Murder of Farmer’s Wife Shocks Small Iowa Town

The episode detail two high-profile cold case murder investigations that occurred in small-town Iowa. The first case examines the 2015 shooting of Shirley Carter, which resulted in a rare civil trial where a father successfully sued his son, Jason Carter, for wrongful death before a criminal jury later acquitted him. The second narrative follows the forty-year search for the killer of teenager Michelle Martinko, who was stabbed to death at a mall in 1979. Investigators eventually utilized genetic genealogy and DNA recovered from a drinking straw to arrest and convict Jerry Burns decades after the crime. Both accounts emphasize the devastating impact of violent crime on rural families and the evolving role of forensic technology in the justice system. Collectively, the transcripts highlight the complex emotional dynamics of legal battles that pit relatives against one another or leave communities seeking answers for generations.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-files-unsealed--6017387/support.This episode includes AI-generated content.