'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABdAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABhAAAgICAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAASBxEFEyEVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBREBAAIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQjYv/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8Ak5OSZja8Bc/Mh90lKC3K2+25uTONTsD2E0+d5Iycm33dmFNFDMSFErfMYwszsvky1o1V264TiISXP//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A California court sentenced convicted serial killer John Arthur Getreu to seven years to life for the 1973 murder of Stanford law librarian Leslie Perlov on Thursday, April 27. The former, who is now 78-years-old, is already serving a life sentence at the California Health Care Facility in connection to separate homicide cases.
Trigger warning: This article concerns references to multiple homicides, reader discretion is advised.
Authorities believe that John Arthur Getreu committed at least three murders between 1963 and 1974. He is also suspected in a fourth murder, that of 15-year-old Theresa Smith, as well as an attempted murder. The murder of Leslie Perlov was cold for decades before being reopened in 2018.
Californian authorities used breakthroughs in forensic technology to link John Arthur Getreu to his 70's crimes
The son of a US Army Sergeant Major, the first slaying John Arthur Getreu was convicted of, took place in 1963 in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. At the age of 19, Getreu reportedly assaulted and murdered the unnamed teenage daughter of a US Army Chaplain. Since he was considered a juvenile under German law, he only served two years of a 10 year sentence before being paroled and deported to the US.
In 1973, John Arthur Getreu murdered Leslie Perlov in Stanford. In 1974, after his release, he fatally strangled 21-year-old Janet Ann Taylor. In 1975, he assaulted a 17-year-old girl scout in Palo Alto, California, while serving as a guardian for a girl scout troupe. He strangled the girl, but the victim survived.
He would eventually serve 10 months for the incident. At the time, Getreu was married with children, and presented himself as a normal civilian who worked as a security guard.
In 2018, Californian authorities used breakthroughs in forensic technology to link Getreu to the crimes he perpetrated throughout the 70's. In 2021, authorities tracked him down to his home in Hayward, California, where he was living with his wife. In September of that year, he was convicted of the murder of Janet Ann Taylor after more than 40 years.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen commented on the case:
"The long nightmare of John Getreu is over. I hope this brings some measure of peace to the loved ones of the people he preyed on. And I hope that I never have to say his name again."
Fox News reported that Getreu's DNA is now part of the state database. As a result, it will be used for several other cold cases which have a similar modus operandi to his proven crimes.
He was also accused of several other assaults, such as the reported systematic abuse on his stepdaughter, as well as a death threat he had supposedly made against another Girl Scout.
