Serial killer finally caught by his DNA - but true body count may never be known
When John Arthur Getreu was 18, he found himself behind bars. The American teen had a father in the Army, so he grew up living at various overseas military bases. During his adolescent years he lived with his family in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, and attended a high school with other children of service personnel.
It was the evening of 8 June 1963 and Getreu, who was close to graduating, attended a dance where he met Margaret Williams, the daughter of an Army chaplain. Later, Getrau offered to walk her home. He then raped and beat her. Margaret, 15, died from a severe head injury.
Getreu had been seen with Margaret that night, so he was a prime suspect. When questioned, he eventually said he’d had sex with Margaret, but denied killing her.
In July 1964, according to the law in West Germany at the time, he was tried as a juvenile and found guilty. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was the maximum allowed for someone under the age of 21. At the sentencing, he expressed remorse and said sorry to Margaret’s family.
Getreu's DNA linked him to historic crimesAfter serving six years, Getreu got parole and returned to the United States. There he reinvented himself as an upstanding member of the community – but the sexual predator wasn’t done killing.
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Sexual abuse
He married his first wife, Susan, who had a daughter, and they settled in Palo Alto, California, between 1971 and 1975. It was easy for him to start a new life away from the country where he’d committed his crime. He worked in a local hospital as a medical technician, near the campus of the prestigious Stanford University.
Getreu had a good reputation, and even helped out with the local scouts in his spare time. Then, in 1975, he was charged with sexually abusing a 17-year-old female scout.
Getreu managed to escape with just a fine and spent less than a month in prison. It spelled the end of his marriage – which was a relief to his stepdaughter, who would later claim that Getreu had been abusing her from a young age.
He married his second wife, Lynda, and they had two children. After Lynda died of cancer, Getreu married for a third time, in 2008.
The family man was charming and raised no suspicions. He was part of a local religious fraternal order that advocated Christian values. He’d buy presents at Christmas for the local kids and used his carpentry skills to help others.
Meanwhile, the police were working on a murder case. Leslie Marie Perlov was a graduate of Stanford University and worked part-time in the law library on campus. Leslie, 21, wanted to be a lawyer, but she went missing in Palo Alto on 13 February 1973.
Her abandoned car was found first, then her body was discovered three days later on a local hiking trail. She’d been sexually assaulted and a floral scarf was found knotted tightly around her neck. It had been used to strangle her to death.
Janet Ann Taylor was found dead in a ditchLeslie’s devastated family believed she was in the woods the day she was killed, taking photos of nature to commission a watercolour painting for her mum’s birthday.
The murder case had run cold – until 2018, when DNA that had been found under Leslie’s nails was tested again with more advanced technology and the newly growing genealogy databases that were catching out other historic killers. The DNA led to Getreu.
Because he’d killed abroad, his DNA wasn’t on a US criminal database,so investigators collected a disposable coffee cup that he’d discarded. It proved he was a match.
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In November 2018, Getreu was arrested at his home in Haywood, California. With his DNA, investigators were able to link him to another murder.
Janet Ann Taylor, 21, was found dead in a ditch on 24 March 1974. Janet had been last seen trying to hitchhike her way back to her home because her car was having work done. Young women hitchhiking alone in the 1970s was a normal occurrence.
Janet was the daughter of a famous retired football player turned coach, Chuck Taylor. At the time of his daughter’s death, Chuck was athletic director at Stanford University.
Torn clothes
DNA found on Janet’s torn green trousers matched to Getreu and he was charged with her murder in May 2019. It was unclear whether she’d been raped, but her torn clothes suggested that was the motive.
Both killings had been known as The Stanford Murders and Getreu was now a serial killer, with a body count of three. Investigators had suspicions that he was connected to other crimes, including a woman who alleged Getreu had tried to kill her in 1969, and a young teenager murdered in 1980, but no further charges were filed.
In 2021, Getreu faced a three-week trial for the murder of Janet Taylor. The court heard details about Getreu’s sexual assaults on his former stepdaughter, and the rape of the female scout in his care. It was clear he was a dangerous predator.
A jury found him guilty and sentenced him to seven years to life in prison without the chance of parole. The sentence was carried out in accordance to guidelines in place in 1973.
Getreu's first wife, SusanThe second trial was delayed due to Getreu’s ill health, then in January 2023, he changed plea and pleaded guilty to killing Leslie Perlov. He admitted he’d killed her after he’d tried to rape her, and she’d fiercely defended herself. Leslie was credited for fighting back hard enough to get DNA under her nails – proving Getreu was a killer.
At the sentencing, Leslie’s sister Diane spoke of the need for Leslie to be heard, even in death. “Leslie fought ferociously for her life. Leslie was stripped of her life and of her voice. But I am here,” Diane said, adding that Leslie was too. “Feel our strength and feel our fury.”
Diane expressed her anger that her older sister’s life ended so violently and Getreu had been free to live his life for 50 years.
Getreu, now 78, was sentenced to seven years to life. Despite his old appearance and ill health, there was no doubt the serial killer had spent his life being a danger to the public. His DNA will regularly be compared to unsolved rapes and murders, but it’s possible the true extent of his crimes might never be known.
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