Decades later, DNA in gum attached to the body reveals the perpetrator

Ua man who killed a 15-year-old girl was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States after an elastic gum was discovered on the victim's back. The case dates back to 1978 and had been dismissed. 

Mark Stanley Personette, 80, a Colorado native, was convicted at the end of last year for the murder of Marissa Rolf Harvey, who disappeared on March 27, 1978, after going to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. 

“ After nearly 50 years, Mr. Personette is finally being held responsible for the heinous crimes against Marissa and will spend the rest of her life in prison,” District Attorney Brook Jenkins said in a statement this Wednesday, quoted by the New York Post.

And he added: “Although we cannot bring Marissa, we hope that today’s sentence leaves the family with the feeling that justice has been done for all that they have suffered.”. 

The 14 - year - old girl who lived in New York had gone to visit her sister in San Francisco. On the day of his disappearance, he had gone for a walk to Golden Gate Park. Later, the body was found near Sutro Heights Park.

According to the police, Melissa was sexually assaulted and strangled. Without proof, the case was closed. 

However, in October 2020, authorities reopened it and used advanced DNA testing and investigative genealogy to find the presumed perpetrator. 

The tests revealed a male DNA profile on the young woman's shirt and trousers, plus a dry gum that was stuck in the back area. 

To get to the man's DNA, the FBI caught him dumping the garbage in a parking lot at a Wallmart in Denver. This time, they took samples and then the DNA proved to be compatible. 

While searching the suspect's home, authorities found car plates from California, although Personette denied being in that city. 

Note, however, that Marissa Harvey was not the only victim. During the trial another victim testified that in 1979 she was abused when she was 16, in New Jersey. 

At the end of the trial, prosecutors praised the conclusion of the case after decades without resolution. 

“ This sentence reflects the extraordinary cruelty of Mark Personette’s conduct and the evil she caused,” said the prosecutor, adding that “he will spend the rest of his life facing the consequences of killing Marissa.”.