I9: Sister and friend of Michelle Martinko speak to TV9 about new development

Elizabeth Laymon knows that 37 years is a long time to wait for answers. She was a friend and schoolmate of Michelle Martinko, a teen murdered in 1979.

"We did choir and classes and things like that," said Laymon. "I can still vividly remember her laugh."

Martinko's body was found in the family's Buick outside the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids. The killer has yet to be identified.

"It has haunted us," said Laymon.

Thanks to new technology, that may change. Cedar Rapids Police have used DNA collected at the crime scene to develop a composite of what Martinko's murderer may have looked like.

For many, like Janelle Stonebraker, this new development means a renewed sense of hope. Stonebraker is Martinko's only sister.

"We have a face for somebody that hasn't had a face for all these years," said Stonebraker.

Anyone with information about this case is being asked to get in touch with the Cedar Rapids Police Department at 319-286-5442.