1973 Cold Murder Case Leads To Arrest Using DNA, Genetics

SAN JOSE, CA -- Santa Clara County Sheriff's solved a 45-year-old murder by using genetics and DNA leading to the arrest of John Getreu, 74, of Hayward for the killing of Leslie Marie Perlov.

Perlov, who would be age 66 now, was last seen at her Palo Alto employer on Feb. 13. That same day, her 1972 orange Chevy Nova was discovered parked at the gate of an old quarry located near the intersection of Old Page Mill and Page Mill roads.

Three days later, a sheriff's reserve on mounted patrol located her body under an oak tree in the hills west of where he vehicle was abandoned. The county Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as strangulation. The case remained dormant for years.

Cold case investigators recently took another crack at Perlov's case by submitting several items into evidence at the county crime laboratory. In July, the Sheriff's office also enlisted Parabon NanoLabs for further DNA testing.

From there, the Virginia technology company's Snapshot DNA Analysis Service received a match when it used an advanced form of examination involving genetic analysis and sophisticated identification techniques by using relatives and ancestors.

--Image courtesy of Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department