Decades have passed since the brutal murder of 15-year-old Marissa Harvey in San Francisco, but justice has yet to take a holiday. Mark Personette, 80, now finds himself convicted of first-degree murder in a case that has lingered in the coldest reaches of unsolved crimes, as reported by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. Thanks to advancements in DNA technology and dogged investigative work, the long-awaited verdict has been handed down.
The cold case, which saw Harvey’s life tragically taken in 1978, had long stumped investigators until new hope emerged through DNA technology. A profile extracted from the crime scene was matched to Personette using genealogy databases, ultimately leading to his arrest in Denver after he was observed discarding trash containing personal items with his DNA. That evidence tied him to the crime. Now, following a five-week trial and the tireless efforts of Assistant District Attorneys Heather Trevisan and Katherine Wells, justice has finally caught up despite the passage of time.
In a testament to the severity of the crime, Personette, who is currently in custody, is facing a sentence ranging from seven years to life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for December 17. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stated, "At long last, justice has been delivered," and praised the victim’s family for their unwavering pursuit of justice for Marissa, as per the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.
Further compounding Personette's alleged history of violence, a previous victim testified that in 1979, Personette raped her, and the San Francisco Police Department, along with the FBI, has now urged law enforcement across the nation to examine unsolved cases that may bear his mark. Law enforcement agencies are strongly encouraged to review their cold cases involving young women and sexual assault-related homicides for possible connections to Personette, who has seen his share of previous arrests. The connection to this dark past was brought to light after investigators reopened the Harvey case in 2020 and employed advanced investigative methods, as reported by CBS News.
