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Cold Case Cracked: Killer Caught After 43 Years on the Run
1 Oct
Summary
- An 80-year-old man was sentenced for a 1978 murder after evading capture for 43 years.
- DNA evidence eventually linked the suspect to the strangulation of a 15-year-old girl.
- The suspect maintained his innocence, but evidence included items found in his possession.
Mark Personette, 80, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of Marissa Harvey, whom he strangled in 1978. Personette evaded authorities for 43 years following the crime. He was found guilty by a jury in November and will be eligible for parole in seven years. Harvey, 15, was visiting San Francisco when she disappeared in March 1978 and her body was found later that month in Sutro Heights Park.
The initial investigation yielded an earring and a bloodied leaf but no suspect. The case went cold for decades until the San Francisco Police Department reopened it in October 2020. DNA tests on Harvey's clothing and gum revealed a male DNA profile. Investigators identified Personette as a suspect in 2021.
Investigators followed Personette for seven months in Denver, eventually collecting discarded grocery bags and a urine jug for DNA analysis. This DNA matched samples from the crime scene. Despite Personette denying being in San Francisco, investigators found a 1970s map of the city and old California license plates in his possession. His defense attorney indicated that legal and evidentiary issues affected his right to a fair trial, but a motion for a new trial was denied.
