 was charged with the kidnapping and murder of Gretchen Harrington (right), an unsolved cold case from 1975 (Picture: Delaware County District Attorney's Office/Cobb County Sheriff's Office) A retired Pennsylvania pastor was arrested and charged for the 1975 kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl on her way to bible camp. David Zandstra, 83, was charged with the criminal homicide, murder, kidnapping of Gretchen Harrington almost 50 years ago. At press conference on Monday, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer called the ex-pastor 'a monster.' 'He is every parent's worst nightmare,' Stollsteimer said. 'This is a man who is a remorseless child predator who acted as if he was a friend, a neighbor and a man of God, and he killed this poor little girl.' Around 9.30am on August 15, 1975, Gretchen Harrington left her home in Marple Township, Pennsylvania and walked to bible camp held at two churches in the small town. The camp began with morning exercises held at Trinity Church Chapel Christian Reform Church, then the children were transported by car to Reformed Presbyterian Church. Harrington's father was the pastor at Reformed. Zandstra served as the pastor at Trinity, and was also responsible for transporting the bible camp children between the two churches. Harrington never showed up for the second portion of camp at Reformed. Her father called police around 11.23am that same morning. Zandstra initially denied seeing Harrington at all that morning. But a witness said they saw her speaking to the driver of a green station wagon – one of the cars Zandstra used to to drive the children between churches. Harrington's disappearance sparked a massive search for the missing girl. Over 2,000 leaflets were distributed across Delaware County, and police set up a 24-hour tip line. Harrington's body was found two months later in a creek within Ridley State Park. The park was about 2.5 miles from her home in Marple. Contemporaneous reports f){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A retired Pennsylvania pastor was arrested and charged for the 1975 kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl on her way to bible camp.
David Zandstra, 83, was charged with the criminal homicide, murder, kidnapping of Gretchen Harrington almost 50 years ago.
At press conference on Monday, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer called the ex-pastor ‘a monster.’
‘He is every parent’s worst nightmare,’ Stollsteimer said. ‘This is a man who is a remorseless child predator who acted as if he was a friend, a neighbor and a man of God, and he killed this poor little girl.’