Watch Live: Michelle Martinko murder trial begins for suspect Jerry Burns

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Feb. 12, 2020 8:45 am, Updated: Feb. 13, 2020 12:01 pm

LIVE COVERAGE OF DAY 2: Follow this link for Thursday's live coverage

Jerry Burns is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Michelle Martinko on Dec. 19, 1979. Police found the 18-year-old's body in her parents' Buick parked behind the J.C. Penney at Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids.

Opening testimony began Wednesday in Burns' trial in Scott County. Follow reporter Trish Mehaffey's live coverage from the courtroom. She'll be updating in the chat below, where you also can ask questions and post comments (your posts are being moderated by Trish, so they may not appear immediately, but she will receive them).

• MORE ABOUT THE CASE: Key moments in the Michelle Martinko cold case investigation

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Witness Jane Hansen, CPA and realtor in Plano, Texas, looks over photos of Michelle Martinko as evidence is presented at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Jerry Burns enters the courtroom during a hearing for at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 16, 2020. Burns is charged in the 1979 slaying of Michelle Martinko. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)