Former pastor admits to abducting, killing 8-year-old girl on her way to Bible camp in 1975By Joe Tacopino
July 24, 2023
A former pastor was arrested for the decades-old cold-case murder of an 8-year-old girl in Pennsylvania after he admitted to abducting and killing the young girl while she was on her way to Bible camp, officials said.
David Zandstra, 83, allegedly pulled up alongside Gretchen Harrington in his green station wagon on Aug. 15, 1975, and offered her a ride, according to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.
The wicked pastor told investigators that he took the girl to a secluded spot, where he told her to take off her clothes, then beat her to death when she refused.
The pastor, who was known to the family, said he drove back to church after the killing.
“David Zandstra is a monster. He is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Delco District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said during a press conference Monday, according to NBCPhiladelphia.
“He killed this poor 8-year-old girl he knew and who trusted him. And then he acted as if he was a family friend, not only during her burial and the period after that, but for years.”
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Investigators interviewed a woman in January who claimed to be best friends with Zandstra’s daughter. She alleged that Zandstra groped her during a sleepover at his home when she was 10 years old.
After detectives confronted the pastor with the sexual assault allegations, he admitted to abducting and killing Gretchen.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/07/24/former-pastor-admits-to-abducting-killing-8-year-old-girl-in-1975/
