Man Found Guilty In 1974 Stanford Murder Of 21-Year-Old

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — A San Mateo County jury convicted John Arthur Getreu of first-degree murder on Wednesday in the case of a 1974 murder of 21-year-old Janet Taylor at Stanford University.

The jury took less than an hour to render a verdict after a two-week trial, according to the Palo Alto Weekly.

Getreu, a Hayward resident, strangled and beat Taylor on March 24, 1974, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. Her body was found in a ditch on Sand Hill Road and Manzanita Way near the Stanford campus.

Prosecutors used DNA evidence in 2018 to arrest Getreu, who is now 77.

Getreu is also accused of killing another young woman, 21-year-old Leslie Perlov, in 1973. Perlov’s body was also found strangled and dumped in the Stanford Dish hiking area, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. That case is awaiting trial.

Getreu had previously been convicted of a 1963 rape and murder of Margaret Williams in Germany and the rape of a Palo Alto resident in 1975.