A 79-year-old serial rapist and murderer, who was sentenced just five months ago for the strangulation murder of a Stanford Law librarian on university property, has passed away while in prison.
In September 2021, a California jury found Getreu guilty of the murder of Taylor, and he was sentenced for his heinous crimes in November 2021. Taylor's lifeless body was discovered on March 25, 1974, in a ditch on Stanford University land.
She had been strangled, beaten, and her clothing torn, and it was believed that Getreu had intended to sexually assault her.
As seen in other well-known serial killer cases, discarded evidence containing a DNA sample played a pivotal role in the arrest. This time, DNA from a disposable coffee cup was instrumental in solving both Taylor and Perlov's murders.
Authorities had held crucial DNA evidence from the Perlov case for 45 years, and it was discovered that Getreu's DNA was found beneath Perlov's fingernails. Perlov's body was found on February 16, 1973, in the hills overlooking Stanford University, with a floral scarf tightly knotted around her neck.
Already serving a sentence for Janet Ann Taylor's murder, the convicted killer chose not to face another trial and instead pleaded guilty in January 2023 to the murder of Perlov. He received a second life sentence in April but lived only for five more months before passing away from natural causes on September 22 while incarcerated.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe referred to Getreu as a "truly evil human being who was not held accountable until the end of his life," while Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen reportedly responded with "good" upon learning of the murderer's death.
Getreu had previously been convicted of statutory rape of a teenage girl who was a member of his Explorer Scout Troop in 1975. He also had a conviction for the rape and strangulation murder of 15-year-old Margaret Williams in Germany in 1964.
According to The Almanac, Getreu served nearly six years of a 10-year sentence for rape with fatal consequences before being released when German authorities believed he would lead a law-abiding life.
In another news, a 31-year-old woman was taken into custody on Thursday for her alleged assault on a 13-year-old girl at a McDonald's in Los Angeles, a disturbing incident captured in a widely circulated video. See detailed story here
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