Man Pleads Not Guilty to 1986 Gruesome Rape, Murder

A man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl in 1986 has pleaded not guilty to the crimes after the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office reopened the case and arrested him last year.

John William Kelley, now 50, was 23 and married when he picked up Annette Thru on Dec. 6, 1986, while she was hitchhiking, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday.

Kelley took Thru to his home in Ben Lomond, where he allegedly raped and sodomized her before strangling and smothering her, according to Wagstaffe.

After killing her, Kelley took her body up Skyline Boulevard and dumped it in a ravine, Wagstaffe said.

Her body was discovered a few hours later and despite an extensive investigation, the crime remained unsolved for more than two decades.

In 2012, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office reopened the case. Investigators conducted DNA analysis on fluids on the victim and found a match in the statewide DNA databank, identifying Kelley as the suspect.

Kelley was found in Placerville and arrested, and remains in custody without bail.

Kelley, who was indicted by a grand jury on March 12, pleaded not guilty on Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court.

He faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. The case was continued to April 30 at 8:45 a.m. to set pretrial conference and jury trial dates.

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