Hayward man, a convicted rapist and in jail on one murder charge, arrested in another cold murder case

(San Mateo Sheriff's Office)

On Thursday, May 16, 2019, Investigators from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office served an arrest warrant on 74-year-old John Arthur Getreu  from Hayward, California for the 1974 murder of Janet Taylor.



Getreu was transferred to the San Mateo County Jail this  morning from the Santa Clara County Jail where he was being held for the 1973 murder of Leslie Perlov  in that County.

Getreu will be arraigned in San Mateo County today for the  charge of 187PC – murder.

Getreu will  be returned to Santa Clara County jail immediately after his arraignment in San Mateo County and will face charges in that County first.

On March 25th, 1974 a delivery driver was making his  way along Sand Hill Road west of Interstate 280 and saw the body of a young female off the side of the highway.   The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office  took  possession of the  victim  and  concluded that the  manner of death was a homicide.   The victim was discovered to be Janet Taylor and the homicide was a result of strangulation.

Although the coroner’s investigation concluded the victim was not raped, evidence clearly indicates a sexual motivation for the crime. The murder investigation was assumed by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s  Office and, within days, our homicide detectives began conferring with their counterparts in  Santa Clara  County. 

It was their belief that the murder of Janet Taylor was potentially connected to the slaying of 21-year old Leslie Perlov in Santa Clara County the year before.  The suspect’s MO was very similar and both victims were last seen leaving the Stanford University campus area before their murders. 

For many years, both killings remained unsolved despite the  sincere efforts of seasoned investigators. In 2017, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Cold  Case investigators David Tresmontan and Rick Jackson re-initiated the investigation into the Janet  Taylor murder.  Once again, they began working in conjunction with homicide  investigators from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s  Office.  As part of our combined efforts on this case, both agencies submitted evidence to our respective crime labs for DNA analysis. Unfortunately, there was no DNA evidence in items we submitted but Santa Clara County’s crime lab located an unknown male DNA profile on evidentiary items submitted by their Sheriff’s Office. 

Through further  investigation, they determined that  the DNA belonged to 74-year-old John Arthur Getreu of Hayward,  California.  On November 20th  of last year, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s arrested John Getreu for the murder of Leslie Perlov.  Getreu remains in custody without bail.

After the identification of  a suspect in the Santa Clara County  case, our Investigators in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office combed through more evidence in the  Janet Taylor case and submitted additional items to our crime lab.   This time, the crime lab was able to find male DNA profile on clothing worn by Janet Taylor and  that DNA profile was  consistent with that of John Getreu’s.   Through our investigation, we learned much  more about the suspect in this case.

Our investigation into John Getreu revealed that  he had been connected to the Palo Alto area during the time both Janet Taylor and Leslie Perlov were murdered.  We also learned  that in addition to him now being a suspect in two cold homicides  on the Peninsula, in 1964 he was put on trial for rape resulting in the death of a  16-year-girl in Germany.  Getreu was just  18-years-old at the time.  Further, we learned that he was also convicted of raping a woman in Santa Clara County. 

Many of the records on Getrue are old and/or incomplete  so we are still researching his past. Our case was presented to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and on May 10, 2019, an arrest warrant was issued for John Arthur Getreu for the 1974 murder  of Janet Taylor. 

There are many people from various agencies whose dedication over the years has helped us to now bring justice to the victim in this case. Our  Sheriff, Carlos Bolanos, would like to thank past and present members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for their strong support and partnership in this investigation.  In addition, we would like  to extend our appreciation for the hard work and professionalism of the San Mateo County  Forensic Laboratory, the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office, members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit  from the  FBI, all the  former Sheriff’s Office investigators and volunteers who helped canvas the  scene in 1974, and many members of the public who came forward initially and are  continuing to assist us.   Investigators have contacted the family and close friends of the victim and they request that their privacy be respected at this time.