CEDAR RAPIDS Convicted killer Jerry Burns, who fatally stabbed 18-year-old Michelle Martinko in 1979, has hired a Chicago-area lawyer who received national attention for representing a man featured in Netflix’s documentary series “Making of a Murderer.”
Court appeal records state Kathleen Zellner, who represented Steven Avery in the true crime documentary, and associate Nicholas Curran, who both practice in Downers Grove, Ill., have joined the appeal team, along with Elizabeth Araguas and Frank Nidey of Nidey Erdahl Meier & Araguas in Cedar Rapids.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office confirmed that no appeal has been filed at this time. The deadline is Feb. 16.
edecious@messengernews.net
SIOUX CITY An Eagle Grove man convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine while illegally possessing a firearm was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison Thursday.
Bobby Hernandez, 50, received the term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person on Aug. 27. He was previously convicted in 2009 of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a news release from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
Evidence at plea and sentencing hearings showed that Hernandez distributed at least 750 grams of meth mixture (1.65 pounds) in Wright County from 2017 to about October 2019. In April 2019, he was arrested in Webster County on an outstanding warrant for a state probation violation, where officers seized over seven grams of meth.
edecious@messengernews.net
ALGONA The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation received a request to assist the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office regarding a welfare check associated with an animal neglect investigation in Whittemore on Monday.
The DCI Crime Scene Team assisted at a residence at 407 Clay St. after officers secured the scene. The DCI continues to assist in the ongoing investigation. No further details about the incident were provided in a news release Tuesday.
The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office was called to Clay Street on Sunday about an animal neglect investigation, where deputies “discovered what they perceived to be a potential concern of safety,” a news release from the Sheriff’s Office said.
kwingert@messengernews.net
VINCENT The Webster County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent murder-suicide in rural Webster County, according to a preszs release from the department.
Sheriff’s deputies were sent to 107 N. Third St. in Vincent for a welfare check at approximately 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, where they found Allen D. Will, 69, and Karen E. Will, 67, dead in the residence.
An initial investigation indicated that Karen Will died of a gunshot wound and Allen Will died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the overnight hours of Friday into Saturday morning. Both bodies were sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiner for autopsies.