Man Convicted In 'Heinous' Killing Of Teen In SF More Than 40 Years Ago

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — An 80-year-old man has been convicted of killing a teen in San Francisco more than 45 years ago, prosecutors said.

Jurors found Mark Personette guilty of first-degree murder following a trial, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

“At long last, justice has been delivered, and Mr. Personette is being held accountable for this horrific crime,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement Thursday. "Although nothing we do can bring the victim back, I pray this verdict gives the family a sense of closure and inspires others who are still waiting for justice not to lose hope.”

Prosecutors say Personette strangled, sexually assaulted and killed 15-year-old Marissa Harvey on March 27, 1978.

Marissa had been visiting her sister in San Francisco and went to Golden Gate Park to ride a horse, prosecutors said. But she never returned to her sister's house.

Surfers discovered the teen's body the following day in the underbrush of Sutro Heights Park, according to authorities.

An autopsy revealed that she had been violently attacked and sexually assaulted before her death, according to prosecutors, who described the killing as "brutal."

The case appeared to have gone cold until testing of Marissa's sweater and jeans in the early 2000s revealed a DNA profile of a male, authorities said. A piece of dried gum had also been found stuck on her back, authorities said.

Just over 20 years later, authorities identified Personette as a possible suspect, prosecutors said.

FBI agents surveilled Personette at his Denver, Colorado home, where he at some point traveled more than 15 miles away to a Walmart parking lot to throw away trash, prosecutors said. Agents retrieved the trash, which included personal hygiene items with his DNA, authorities said.

Authorities were able to secure a search warrant for Personette's home and found he had been separating all personal hygiene items from his other trash. Although he denied ever having visited San Francisco, agents found 1970s maps of the city and a set of California license plates with a 1979 registration sticker at his home, prosecutors said.

After further testing, Personette's DNA matched the one that had been found on Marissa's sweater and jeans, and the gum, prosecutors said.

During the trial, a woman testified that Personette had raped her as a teen in a wooded area of New Jersey back in 1979, prosecutors said.

“After nearly half a century, this verdict brought long-overdue justice for 15-year-old Marissa Harvey,” Assistant District Attorney Katherine Wells said. “We are deeply grateful to her unwavering family, the courageous survivor who testified about Personette’s assault on her, and SFPD’s tireless efforts through the decades to bring Mark Personette to justice.

"Thank you to the jury who conscientiously considered the evidence in this harrowing case and proved that time and distance will not shield those who commit heinous acts in San Francisco," Wells said.