80-year-old man sentenced to life in prison for 1978 murder of teenage girl

SAN FRANCISCO (TCN) -- An 80-year-old man convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the 1978 death of a teenage girl has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after seven years.

According to the San Francisco district attorney, 15-year-old Marissa Harvey was visiting her sister in San Francisco and went to Golden Gate Park to go horseback riding on March 27, 1978. Her body was found in the underbrush the next day by a group of surfers. Evidence, including blood on a leaf, showed she had been attacked where she was found, and an autopsy determined she had been strangled and sexually assaulted. 

In 2021, investigative genetic genealogy identified Mark Personette as a suspect, according to the DA. He was surveilled by FBI investigators at his home in Denver, Colorado, and they collected personal hygiene garbage that had his personal DNA on it. A search warrant later executed at his home showed he separated his personal hygiene materials from his other garbage. The DNA collected matched evidence found on Harvey’s sweater and jeans as well as a piece of gum taken from the crime scene. 

At trial, another victim testified she had allegedly been raped in New Jersey by Personette in 1979, the year after Harvey was killed, according to the DA.

The DA announced on Sept. 30 that Personette was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after seven years. 

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