Colorado Man Arrested in Connection With 1978 Murder of New York Girl
Authorities have arrested a Colorado man in connection with the 1978 murder of a teenage girl.
According to a Facebook post from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the incident occurred in March of that year, when 15-year-old Marissa Rolf Harvey, of New York, stopped by Golden Gate Park while visiting family in California.
She never returned home. Police later discovered her body in the nearby Sutro Heights Park. Despite efforts from law enforcement, the time period's limited technology led to a cold case.
However, in October of 2020, SFPD's Forensic Sciences Division used updated technology to connect Harvey's murder to Mark Stanley Personette — who, according to 9News, is a 76-year-old resident of Conifer.
Along with help from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, authorities arrested Personette on Thursday (Dec. 16). He is currently in the Jefferson County Jail, facing one count of homicide.
"For more than four decades, Marissa Harvey's family members have been relentless advocates to bring her killer to justice, and we hope this development in the case begins to bring a measure of healing and closure they've been too long denied," said SFPD Chief of Police Bill Scott in the post. "To the families and friends of all victims awaiting justice for crimes committed in our city, we hope this case sends an unequivocal message that you are never forgotten by the San Francisco Police Department — and that our cold-case investigators continue their tireless work on your loved ones' behalf."
READ: Police Identify Victim of 1988 Colorado Cold Case 33 Years Later
In that vein, the post noted that Personette could be connected to other "sexual-assault-related cold-case homicides involving young women."
If you have any information about this case, please contact SFPD's Sergeant Alan Levy, Star #4216, by calling +1 (415) 553-9245 or at alan.levy@sfgov.org.
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