Law librarian found dead near Stanford campus in 1973. Former worker pleads guilty
A man was found guilty of murder in 2021 after police investigated a 1974 killing. Now he’s pleaded guilty to another killing from 1973, California officials said.
John Getreu, 78, was charged in 2018 after Santa Clara County District Attorney criminalists were able to match DNA found on a 21-year-old’s body after she was found dead near the Stanford campus, according to a news release by the District Attorney’s office. The DNA was found under her fingernails.
On Jan. 10, Getreu, a former Stanford employee, admitted to killing Stanford law librarian Leslie Perlov in 1973, officials said.
Perlov’s body was found Feb. 16, 1973, in the hills that overlook the college campus, according to the release. A “floral scarf was found tightly knotted around her neck” and had been used to strangle her, authorites said.
Getreu also told police Perlov’s death happened during an attempted sexual assault, according to The Mercury News.
“It has been 50 years this month since my older sister was taken from us. Fifty years in which this monster has been free and living his life,” Diane Perlov, the woman’s sister, said, according to The Mercury News.
Officials said Getreu is believed to be connected to multiple sexual assault crimes and at least three killings during the time of the ’70s that was known as the “The Stanford murders.”
In 2021, Getreu was convicted of murder after 21-year-old Janet Taylor was found dead, the district attorney said. She was the daughter of the university’s football coach and athletic director, Chuck Taylor.
The same forensic method of DNA genealogy that was crucial in capturing the well-known Golden State Killer was used to link Getreu to the crimes, according to The Mercury News.
Getreu will be sentenced April 26, according to the release. He faces life in prison.
“There is no peace for this, there is no resolution or peace or comfort. Justice is the least we can do,” Diane Perlov said according to The Mercury News.
Stanford is about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Law librarian found dead near Stanford campus in 1973. Former worker pleads guilty."