John Getreu

John Arthur Getreu (born August 26, 1944) is an American murderer and possible serial killer who was convicted of one murder in 1963 that took place in West Germany. He is also charged with two more murders, committed in California between 1973 and 1974, which means he could be an international serial killer.[1][2][3]

John Arthur Getreu
Born (1944-08-26) August 26, 1944
Newark, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse(s)unnamed wife (1970-Divorced, 1978), unnamed wife (1978-Died, 2003), unnamed wife (2008-present)
Conviction(s)Rape, second-degree murder (1963)
Criminal penalty10 years in prison (1963)
Details
Victims1+
Span of crimes
1963–1974
CountryWest Germany, United States
State(s)California
Imprisoned at1963–1970, 1975

Crimes

Convicted:

  • June 8, 1963 rape and murder of 15 year old Margaret Williams at a US base in West Germany.[4] Getreu, who was convicted in the German court system, was tried as a juvenile and sentenced to 10 years in prison although he was released after serving just 2 years and returned to the US.[5]
  • January 19, 1975 rape of a 17-year old Girl Scout in Palo Alto for which he took a guilty plea deal for statutory rape, paid a $200 fine and was sentenced to six months in jail.

Suspect:

  • 1969 attempted murder of then 19-year old Sharon Lucchese.[6]
  • 1973 sexual assault and murder of 21-year old Leslie Perlov in Stanford CA (charged in November 2018 based on DNA evidence).
  • 1974 murder of 21-year old Janet Taylor at Sand Hill Road near Woodside (charged in May 2019 based on DNA evidence).

The Perlov murder had many suspects in the case, but all were ruled out until November 24, 2018 when Getreu was arrested by authorities after crime scene DNA was linked to him using a genetic genealogy site, GEDmatch. After that, the Taylor murder DNA was linked to Perlov DNA, so Getreu is now being charged with both murders. Getreu has pled not guilty to both murders and is scheduled to go on trial for the Perlov murder in September 2020.[7][8]

Media

The case against Getreu was covered in detail, along with the murder of Arlis Perry, in a February 2020 episode of Casefile True Crime Podcast.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Suspected serial killer charged in 2nd Stanford cold case homicide from the '70s". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 2019.
  2. "'She fought desperately': Arrest in 1973 killing of Stanford grad after DNA genealogy probe". The Mercury News. November 21, 2018.
  3. Dremann, Sue. "He was a married hospital technician and a Boy Scouts leader. Was former Palo Alto resident John Getreu also a serial killer?". paloaltoonline.com.
  4. "'She fought desperately': Arrest in 1973 killing of Stanford grad after DNA genealogy probe". The Mercury News. November 21, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. "Case 137: Arlis Perry". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  6. Luciano, Phil. "Luciano: Does Journal Star caller have insight to possible serial killer?". Journal Star.
  7. report, Daily Journal staff. "September 2020 trial date set for alleged murder in cold case". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  8. Lee, Lloyd. "Alleged serial killer pleads not guilty in 1973 murder case". www.almanacnews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
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