Police: No Evidence Linking Montreal Woman To Manson Killings
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Los Angeles police say they have yet to find evidence linking the body of a 19-year-old Montreal woman found stabbed in 1969 near the site of the Manson family killings to the gruesome murders.
Police have identified the woman as Reet Jurvetson, who moved to Los Angeles from Montreal the year she was killed, according to People.
Investigators looked into a possible link due to the area where Jervetson's body was found just off Mulholland Drive, and they interviewed Manson in prison, but the discussion "did not produce anything fruitful and the investigation remains open and ongoing."
Jurvetson's 73-year-old sister, Anne, posted a statement online urging anyone with information about Reet's killing to contact police. She said her sister was stabbed more than 150 times.
Anne Jurvetson said the family received a postcard from Reet in the fall of 1969, saying she was "happy, had a nice apartment in Los Angeles and told them not to worry."
"As time passed, however, we received no more news," Anne Jurvetson said. "Attempts were made to reach her, but they proved fruitless. Initially, we believed that Reet was probably in search of more autonomy, and therefore we waited for her to get in touch with us.
Reet Jurvetson's body was found Nov. 16, 1969, by a birdwatcher in dense brush off the iconic Mulholland Drive. She had been stabbed 150 times and didn't have identification.
After going unidentified for years, Jurvetson eventually became known Jane Doe No. 59. The location and timing of her killing, just a few miles away from several Manson family murders, has long fueled speculation that Jurvetson's case was connected.
Police are working to solve the murder.
"No one deserves what happened to her," LAPD Detective Luis Rivera told People. "It's our job to find out who's responsible and bring them to justice."
Police said they used DNA to identify Jurvetson after her sister recognized a photo posted of the young woman's body online.
Manson became notorious in 1969 as the leader of a "family" of young killers that terrified Los Angeles. Manson was convicted of killing seven people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski.
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