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Colorado man arrested in 1978 San Francisco killing of Marissa Harvey

Mark Personette was arrested using new technology
Old Murder Arrest
Posted at 6:02 AM, Dec 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-20 08:06:37-05

SAN FRANCISCO — A man has been arrested in Colorado on suspicion of killing a teenage girl in San Francisco more than four decades ago.

San Francisco police say 76-year-old Mark Personette was arrested this week in connection with the 1978 death of Marissa Harvey.

The 15-year-old girl from New York was visiting the city when her body was found in a park.

08-042 Victim Marissa Harvey.jpeg

Police said detectives used the best available technology at the time and exhausted every lead, but the probe went cold.

In October 2020, they reopened the case and determined Personette to be a suspect using “advanced investigative methods."

Detectives say Personette may be a suspect in other unsolved homicides involving young women.

Old Murder Arrest
This Nov. 5, 1979, image provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows the Hopewell Township, N.J., Police Department booking photos of Mark Stanley Personette. On Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, Personette was arrested in Colorado on suspicion of killing a teenage girl in San Francisco more than four decades earlier and detectives who cracked the case say he may be a suspect in other unsolved homicides. (Hopewell Township, N.J., Police Department via AP)