Reet Jurvetson

**Reet Jurvetson** was a 19-year-old Canadian woman who was murdered in California in November 1969. Her body remained unidentified for nearly 46 years until an online mortuary photograph was recognised by her family and friends in June 2015. Prior to her identification, Jurvetson's body had been informally known as "Sherry Doe" and officially as "Jane Doe 59."

## Events

### Life

Reet Silvia Jurvetson was born on September 23, 1950 in Sweden to Estonian parents Arthur and Silvia Jurvetson. Her family moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1951.

Her sister Anne described her as "a lovely, free-spirited and happy girl. She was very artistic, drew well and liked to sew her own clothes."

Reet moved to Los Angeles, California in 1969 when she was 19. She sent her parents a postcard that said she was happy in Los Angeles and told them not to worry. It was the last time they heard from her. Despite that, according to Anne, their parents "thought that she was just living her life somewhere and that eventually news from her would turn up." The family never reported her missing.

### Discovery

In November 1969, a woman was found deceased after being stabbed 150 times down an embankment on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, California. LAPD initially theorised that the woman could have visited Spahn Ranch, the Manson Family compound, because, as said by LAPD Detective Luis Riviera, "an identity was made by one of the workers at the Spahn Ranch. However, that was proven to be false."

Nevertheless, LAPD investigators interviewed Charles Manson in the hopes he would have information about the woman's murder. "Their encounter with Manson did not produce anything fruitful and the investigation remains open and ongoing," an LAPD statement said.

### Meanwhile in the Jurvetson family

Reet's father Arthur died at 68 years old on April 29, 1976 in Quebec, nearly seven years after Reet went missing. 24 years later on April 28, 2000, Reet's mother Silvia passed away at 85 years old. Both of Reet's parents are buried in Quebec.

14 years later on December 11, 2014, Reet's brother Tonu passed away at 76 years old in California.

### Identification

45 years[source needed] after the murder in 1969, the woman was positively identified as Reet Jurvetson. With the help of an identification, police are now focusing their investigation on identifying a person of interest named John or Jean. They believe Reet met this person in Montreal in 1969, and that he may have lived in the United States.

Reet's sister Anne wrote a statement saying, "I am horrified to think of how terribly frightened and alone she must have felt as she died."

Reet is currently only survived by her sister Anne.

## News

*For news articles on Reet Jurvetson, see here.*

## External links

* 358UFCA • The Doe Network
* Jurvetson family tree • Ancestry (paywall)
* Murder of Reet Jurvetson • Wikipedia
* Reet Jurvetson • Unidentifed Wiki
* Reet Silvia Jurvetson (1950-1969) • Find A Grave

## In popular media

### Podcasts

* Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad: The Charles Manson Family: More Murders? (22 July 2019)

## Sources

1. ↑ Reet Silvia Jurvetson (1950-1969) • Find A Grave
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 27 Apr 2016: Los Angeles Jane Doe found dead in 1969 ID'd as Montreal woman • CBC News
3. ↑ Arthur Alexander Jurvetson (1908-1976) • Find A Grave
4. ↑ Silvia *Päts* Jurvetson (1914-2000) • Find A Grave
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jurvetson family tree • Ancestry (paywall)