Colorado man convicted in San Francisco 1978 cold case murder of teen girl from New York
By Carlos E. Castañeda
An 80-year-old Colorado man was convicted in the 1978 cold case murder in San Francisco of a teenage girl visiting the city from New York, authorities announced Thursday.
Mark Stanley Personette of Jefferson County was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of 15-year-old Marissa Rolf Harvey, who disappeared on March 27, 1978, after going to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for an afternoon of horseback riding.
Harvey, who was in the city from Queens to visit her sister for Easter, never returned to her sister’s house. The next day, her body was found nearby in Sutro Heights Park by surfers walking through the area. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, police said.
“At long last, justice has been delivered, and Mr. Personette is being held accountable for this horrific crime,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a prepared statement. “I would like to thank the survivor and the victim’s family for never losing hope and remaining steadfast in their commitment to seeing justice done. Although nothing we do can bring the victim back, I pray this verdict gives the family a sense of closure and inspires others who are still waiting for justice not to lose hope.”
In the early 2000s, early DNA testing showed a male DNA profile on the victim’s sweater and jeans, as well as on a piece of dried gum stuck to her back. However, San Francisco police said that while its homicide unit exhausted every lead, the case went cold.
In October 2020, the department’s homicide cold-case unit reopened the case, using advanced DNA testing, and in 2021, through investigative genealogy, Personette was identified as a potential suspect and placed under surveillance, the DA’s Office said in a press release. FBI investigators saw him discarding trash in a Walmart parking lot over 15 miles from his house, and the trash included only personal hygiene items with his DNA, according to the office.
Personette’s home was searched, and it was determined that he was separating his personal hygiene items from his other trash. Investigators also found 1970s maps of San Francisco and a set of California license plates with a 1979 registration sticker, even though he denied to investigators that he had been in San Francisco, the DA’s Office said.
A subsequent DNA test confirmed that Personette’s DNA was on the victim’s sweater and jeans, and the piece of dried gum, prosecutors said. During the subsequent trial, another victim testified that in 1979, Personette raped her in a wooded area of New Jersey when she was 16 years old.
“This case shows that time cannot thwart justice,” said Assistant District Attorney Heather Trevisan in a prepared statement. “I have not seen, in 25 years, more people willing to sacrifice their time and personal comfort to do their duty. I am proud to have prosecuted this case alongside a dedicated team who worked tirelessly to ensure justice was done and that we honored the survivor and the victim’s family who put their faith and trust in us.”
Personette faces seven years to life in prison, and his sentencing was scheduled for December 17.
