A 74-year-old man from Hayward has been charged with a cold-case murder of a 21-year-old woman from 1974, just months after he was charged for the 1973 strangling of another young woman.
John Getreu was arraigned Thursday for allegedly strangling Janet Taylor.
Taylor, the daughter of Stanford's then athletic director, had been seen hitch-hiking before her body was found off Sand Hill Road.
DNA evidence in a Santa Clara County case was critical for breaking open this unsolved murder, San Mateo County Assistant Sheriff Gregory Rothaus said.
"We won't give up. And we have now new DNA technology which also is a great tool for us, "said Rothaus. "And when and where we can use it, we definitely try and use it."
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Authorities in November charged Getreu with murdering Leslie Perlov.
"Based on the evidence…we believe these murders are sexually motivated," Rothaus.said about the current cases against Getrue.
Taylor's family issued a statement thanking law enforcement for their efforts..and saying it would have been wonderful to see what she would have done.
Getreu's criminal record extends back further than the cold cases for which he faces charges.
He was found guilty in a Santa Clara murder in 1975, and was a suspect in a rape and murder in Germany when he was 18.