People Magazine Investigates: What happened to Reet Jurvetson aka Jane Doe 59?

In November 1969, a brutally stabbed body of a white female, whom authorities called Jane Doe 59, was found in the brush off of Mulholland Drive near Bowmont Drive, LA. Little did authorities know that the body would remain unidentified for over four decades until 2015 when the friends and family of the victim would recognize her as 19-year-old Reet Jurvetson.

Jurvetson, aka Jane Doe 59, had been stabbed multiple times, and to date, the case remains a mystery, with investigators still trying to find her killer. Her death has also been associated with the notorious Charles Manson, but nothing solid was ever found.

ID's People Magazine Investigates previously revisited the case in an episode titled Who Killed Jane Doe 59? which aired in 2019. The episode is scheduled to re-air on the platform this Friday, November 25, at 6 pm ET. The synopsis of the episode reads:

"In 1969, a woman is found murdered in Los Angeles, but her identity is a mystery; for decades, police investigate hoping to put a name to the face and find her killer; the one lead that comes up over and over leads them to Charles Manson."

---

Reet Jurvetson, aka Jane Doe 59, was found with 157 stab wounds

Reet Jurvetson, back then known as Jane Doe 59, was found stabbed to death in the bushes on November 16, 1969, by a young boy who was birdwatching near Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. Authorities were instantly alerted about the issue.

Upon arriving at the scene, detectives discovered her body was stuck between tree branches, and she was fully clothed, showing no signs of robbery or s*xual assault. However, no identification was found on her, which proved to be their primary challenge.

The next day, an autopsy revealed that she had 157 pen knife stab wounds to her chest and abdomen and that she had been dead for about 48 hours when the body was found. Her neck had multiple stab wounds, and there were numerous defensive wounds on her hands. For many years, the woman was recognized as Jane Doe 59 before being finally identified as Reet Jurvetson after 46 years in 2015.

Authorities believed that the victim was moved to Mulholland Drive from the scene of the murder in a car, dragged out of the vehicle, and dumped in the ravine at the side of the drive, where tree branches prevented the body from falling into a deep canyon. The investigation, however, went cold since there were no witnesses to her murder and no leads about her identification.

---

Authorities identified Jane Doe 59 as 19-year-old Reet Jurvetson after over four decades

The investigators had identified Jane Doe 59 as an Estonian-Canadian woman but failed to put a name to the face for over four decades. They finally hit the jackpot when Jane Doe 59's sister, Anne Jurvetson, assisted them by providing her DNA sample to correctly identify the victim as 19-year-old Reet Jurvetson.

Sources state that Reet Jurvetson, a Montreal, Canada resident, traveled to Los Angeles in 1969 and wrote letters to her family about her travels. The last letter they received was a postcard dated October 31, 1969, in which she told them about her life in LA and her tiny apartment. The address mentioned in the letter was the Paramount Hotel, which was demolished in the late 80s.

Jurvetson's murder was once even associated with the Manson Family. However, there was no solid evidence to back the claim. The decades-old case remains open, with authorities actively looking into the matter and possible leads that may help solve the case.

---

People Magazine Investigates airs the unsolved murder case of Reet Jurvetson on ID this Friday, November 25.