After 47 years, the body of Jane Doe #59 was finally identified as 19-year-old Reet Jurvetson.
Just a few days after confirming the police identification, her sister, Anne Jurvetson, said the original forensic drawings were “inaccurate.”
In a written memorial on her website, Anne, now 73, and Reet’s only immediate family member alive, says:
“Through the years, when she was only known as Jane Doe #59, or Sherry Doe, there arose widespread speculation about her demise. A forensic artist had made some composite drawings of Reet. Some people thought they recognized her. Unfortunately, these drawings were clearly inaccurate, as anyone can see, and did not resemble her in the least. Hopefully, now that the police have more information on Reet’s time in Los Angeles and actual pictures of her, there may be new avenues explored.”
Reet reportedly moved from Montreal to Los Angeles in 1969—her body was recovered not far from a site of several Manson “family” killings. She was found without identification by a bird watcher on Nov. 16, 1969, stabbed 150 times in the neck and torso area.
Los Angeles Police detective Luis Rivera told People that the investigation cannot rule out the Manson family’s involvement. The police’s main lead is a man known as “John,” who Reet met prior to flying to Los Angeles to see him during the summer of ‘69.
Anne, in the memorial, also asks the public for privacy during her and her family’s time of grieving, stating:
“My desire is that my privacy be respected as I process the shock and grief associated with this news. I have been in regular contact with Detective Luis Rivera of the Los Angeles Police Department since the summer of 2015. All future information and/or inquiries are to be made to Mr. Rivera, and not to me. My hope is that this web page will also answer the questions that will no doubt arise about who Reet was, where she came from, and what she was doing in California.”
Police are currently working to close the case. LAPD Det. Rivera said, “No one deserves what happened to her, it’s our job to find out who’s responsible and bring them to justice.”
On her official memorial website, Anne attached these photos of Reet for the public:
