Michelle Martinko was murdered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1979, at a shopping mall. To this day, her killer has not been caught. So we will see what the Tarot can tell us about the culprit, and a motive.
I used a horoscope spread for this reading. In the first house, we get the perpetrator, who is described here as the King of Cups, reversed. This is a man who is not only dishonest, but violent......as we already know. Look for him to have been a bit older than eighteen year old Michelle. Not much older chronologically, but more experienced. In the second house, which tells us about the means and resources by which this crime was committed, we see the six of wands. This means that the killer's most convenient tool was the ability to get Michelle's attention and trust. Had she simply ignored him, history might have panned out differently. Next, in the third house, of short journeys and communication, we have the ten of pentacles. This house also deals with memory and memories; and with inheritance. In the mundane aspect, this card's appearance here has me wondering if there is or was surveillance from a bank that could help; or perhaps, and employee from from a bank who saw something. In more personal terms, it is possible that there was some discussion between Michelle and her killer about money, gifts, or shopping. She wasn't robbed, so this will not lead us to the motive.
In the fourth house, we get some solid information about the killer. This house deals with the home environment and property, and the card that comes up is the eight of pentacles, reversed. The message is clear: whoever committed this crime was unethical in his use of his employment skills, and may have had trouble keeping a job. In the fifth house, of creativity and pleasure, we find the eight of wands. This is a bit sick and disturbing; it points to an individual who finds violence amusing. Also, it points to someone who really thought this murder would resolve something. Following this, in the sixth house, we get the seven of cups. The sixth house is all about mundane, everyday relationships and it also covers work relationships.....yet the seven of cups is about illusions and delusions. Could this killer have mistaken Michelle for someone who had wronged him? Or could Michelle have resembled someone he didn't like, or reminded him of someone against whom he had a grudge? This is pointing very strongly to the killer and Michelle possibly knowing each other as acquaintances, but Michelle not having done anything, at all, to arouse his paranoia.
The seventh house of partnerships gives us the ace of wands, reversed. Once again, we are directed to the killer's problems with employment and work relationships. Somehow, this played a role. In the eighth house, of death, legacies, karma, and debt, we have the Wheel of Fortune, which is lucky chance. So our killer had intentions of killing someone, and his opportunity with Michelle constituted "luck", inasmuch as he was concerned! Next, in the ninth house, of law, higher education, "the establishment", and long journeys, we have the Empress, which is the "mother" card in the deck. At the surface, this truly appears to add to the confusion, especially about the motive, but there are some possible interpretations. This is an influence or a person who is not only motherly, but productive. This is not Michelle, but the real reason for the killer's rage.
The tenth house deals with ambition and career goals, and in this house, we get the Star. This is inspiration, and some sort of assistance that the killer got; he had a very good enabler. In fact, it may have been his own mother, harking back to the Empress. That is why he hasn't been identified. In the eleventh house, of hopes, wishes, friends, and social life; we have the Sun. This tells me that the killer has been in plain sight for much of this time, undetected, socializing and living his life. In the twelfth house, of secrets and secret enemies, we have the four of cups, reversed. The four of cups reversed speaks of new relationships and moving on to new circumstances. Seeing it here, in the twelfth house of secrets and self undoing, it appears that the killer moved on, after killing Michell Martinko, and successfully covered his tracks.
Update: A man named Jerry Lynn Burns has been arrested and will go on trial in the murder of Michelle Martinko. He was found through DNA that was left at the crime scene.
