John Getreu

John Arthur Getreu (born August 26, 1944) is an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder during 1963 in West Germany and convicted of two more that took place in 1973 and 1974 in the United States.^[2][3][4][5] He is currently serving life imprisonment at California Health Care Facility.^[6]

John Arthur Getreu
Born	John Arthur Getreu (1944-08-26) August 26, 1944 (age 78) Newark, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Susan Getreu ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1978)​ Lynda Getreu ​ ​ (m. 1978; died 2003)​ Unnamed wife ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	2^[1]
Conviction(s)	Rape, second-degree murder (1963) Statutory rape, Santa Clara County (1975) First-degree murder (2021) First-degree murder (2023)
Criminal penalty	Rape, second-degree murder sentence (as juvenile): 10 years (1963), Served: 3 years. Statutory rape sentence: 6 months (1975), Served: 6 months. First-degree murder sentence: 7 years to life (2021)
Details
Victims	3+
Span of crimes	1963–1975
Country	West Germany, United States
State(s)	California
Date apprehended	November 20, 2018
Imprisoned at	California Health Care Facility

Crimes

Convicted:

• In 1964,^[7] at the age of 19, in Germany, where he had been living as the son of a sergeant major in the U.S. Army, for the June 8, 1963 rape and killing, when he was 18 years old, of the 15 or 16 year-old daughter of a U.S. Army chaplain likewise stationed.^[8][9] The U.S. Army base was in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany.^[10] Getreu was convicted as a juvenile under German law, and given a prison sentence of 10 years in prison. As a juvenile and foreign national, the German court stated that Getreu could be deported after parole, after serving 2 years.^[9] Getreu was "eventually returned to the United States after serving a short sentence".^[8] His release and deportation were in 1969.^[10]
• On January 19, 1975, in Palo Alto, for the rape of a 17-year-old Girl Scout Explorer for whose troop he had become a leader and guardian at events, with violence (threatened strangulation), in her home, for which he pleaded guilty to statutory rape and received a sentence of six months in jail, 5 months suspended, where he was released after 30-days and payment of a $200 fine.^[11]
• On September 15, 2021, for the March 1974 murder of 21-year-old Janet Ann Taylor, a daughter of former Stanford University athletic director Charles Taylor. Janet was found strangled along Sand Hill Road in the foothills, near Woodside, above the campus in an area now known as the Dish. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced on November 5, to 7-years to life in prison.^[12]
• On January 10, 2023 (guilty plea),^[13] for the 1973 sexual assault and murder of 21-year-old Leslie Perlov in Stanford, California (charged in November 2018 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 through the genetic genealogy work of CeCe Moore using the site, GEDmatch.^[14] After that, the Taylor murder DNA was linked to Perlov DNA, so Getreu was charged with both murders. Getreu pled not guilty to both murders and was scheduled to go on trial for the Perlov murder in September 2020. However, the trial was postponed due to Getreu falling ill with a brain aneurysm. The trial was rescheduled for January 7, 2021 but again was rescheduled, for 2022.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][10]} However, Getreu pleaded guilty to her murder on January 10, 2023 and is expected to be sentenced on April 26, 2023.^[13][21]

Suspected:

• 1969 attempted murder of then–19-year-old Sharon Lucchese.^[22]
• A journalist has reported that there is evidence raising suspicions that Getreu was involved in the 1980 murder of 15-year-old Theresa Smith,^[23] in Newark, Ohio.^{[citation needed]} Her body was found at the bottom of a bank on Ohio State Route 16.^[24] As of February 2022, no charges had been filed regarding that suspicion; the journalist, Californian Grace Kahng, reported that Getreu had lived two blocks from from the victim's house.^[23]

Media

Information on the early cases against Getreu was covered as an addendum to a broadcast primarily covering the Stanford-area murder of Arlis Perry, in a February 2020 episode of the Australian Casefile True Crime Podcast.^[9][11]

See also

• CeCe Moore
• List of serial killers in the United States
• Parabon NanoLabs

Further reading

• Medina, Eduardo & Rubin, April (January 12, 2023). "Man Pleads Guilty to 1973 Murder of a Stanford Law Librarian". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References

1. "'Stanford murders' conviction renews hope for justice in 2nd alleged victim's case". September 17, 2021.
2. "Suspected serial killer charged in 2nd Stanford cold case homicide from the '70s". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 2019.
3. "'She fought desperately': Arrest in 1973 killing of Stanford grad after DNA genealogy probe". The Mercury News. November 21, 2018.
4. 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.
5. "Getreu found guilty of murdering woman in 1974". Retrieved September 26, 2021.
6. Inmate Locator, inmate BR0562
7. Medina, Eduardo & Rubin, April (January 12, 2023). "Man Pleads Guilty to 1973 Murder of a Stanford Law Librarian". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Salonga, Robert (November 23, 2018) [November 21, 2018]. "'She Fought Desperately': Arrest in 1973 Killing of Stanford Grad after DNA Genealogy Probe". The Mercury News. San Jose, CA. Retrieved January 12, 2023. In 1964, an 18-year-old [sic] Getreu was convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl in Germany, where his father, a U.S. Army sergeant major, was stationed. The victim was the daughter of an Army chaplain also stationed there. He was tried as a juvenile and eventually returned to the United States after serving a short sentence.
9. Forsayeth, J.; McGill E. & Raso, M. (host, "Casey") (February 22, 2020). "Case 137: Arlis Perry" (Podcast). Casefile True Crime. Event occurs at 1:08:25-1:09:30. Retrieved January 12, 2023. Getreu had a violent criminal history dating back two 1963 when his family was stationed in Germany for his father's work with the United States military. On the evening of June 8, 18-year old Getreu encountered 15-year old Margaret Williams, the daughter of the army chaplain, as she was leaving a church dance on base. The following morning, Margaret was found strangled and raped in a field behind the church. Getreu was identified as a suspect immediately, and his arrest soon followed. He admitted to the crime in court stating, "I raped her, but it did not occur to me that I could have killed her. I just wanted to knock her out." He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison, yet because he was a foreigner and considered a juvenile under German law, the court said that he could be released on parole after serving two years and returned to America.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Date of podcast and name of host were taken from its appearance at Apple Podcasts.
10. Kahng, Grace (September 16, 2021). "'Stanford murders' conviction renews hope for justice in 2nd alleged victim's cold case". ABC News. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
11. Forsayeth, J.; McGill E. & Raso, M. (host, "Casey") (February 22, 2020). "Case 137: Arlis Perry" (Podcast). Casefile True Crime. Event occurs at 1:09:48-1:10:58. Retrieved January 12, 2023.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
12. "Man sentenced in San Mateo County cold case murder". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
13. Larson, Amy (January 10, 2023). "Stanford serial killer pleads guilty to murdering librarian". KRON. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
14. Salonga, Robert (November 21, 2018). "'She fought desperately': Arrest in 1973 killing of Stanford grad after DNA genealogy probe". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
15. "Alleged serial killer lands in hospital before trial | News | Almanac Online |".
16. report, Daily Journal staff. "September 2020 trial date set for alleged murder in cold case". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
17. Lee, Lloyd. "Alleged serial killer pleads not guilty in 1973 murder case". www.almanacnews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
18. "Alleged serial killer John Getreu to stand trial after brain aneurysm | News | Palo Alto Online |".
19. "Alleged serial killer's trial delayed while defense seeks state Supreme Court decision on DNA evidence | News | Palo Alto Online |".
20. "John Arthur Getreu Today: Where Is He Now in 2021? | Heavy.com". September 18, 2021.
21. "Serial killer John Getreu pleads guilty to 1973 murder of Leslie Perlov".
22. Luciano, Phil. "Luciano: Does Journal Star caller have insight to possible serial killer?". Journal Star.
23. Sze, Kristen (February 22, 2022). "Sonoma Co. Investigators Explain How They Used DNA to Tie Convicted Rapist to 1996 Murder". ABC 7 News. Retrieved February 22, 2022. [Journalist Grace] Kahng says Getreu is behind the death of Theresa Smith of Ohio, who was killed at age 15. Getreu lived two blocks from her house. Charges have not been filed in that investigation.
24. "Officials Still Investigating Four L.C. Area Murders". The Newark Advocate. July 11, 1980. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.