PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On Friday, investigators announced a break in a 41-year-old cold case. Wayne Walker, 58, has been charged with the murder of 18-year-old Denise Pierson, from Marcus Hook. Pierson went missing in April of 1981, and her body wasn't discovered for another three years.
Walker faces first, second and third-degree murder charges. He's also charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
When Pierson's body was discovered in 1984, an autopsy concluded that she died from blunt force trauma to the head, Delaware County District Attorney's Office and Pennsylvania State Police said.
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According to the DA a second man, Peter Horne, was also a suspect in Pierson's murder, but he died in prison nearly a decade ago. Authorities are still investigating two more suspects.
Investigators said that Pierson didn't return home after visiting a friend in Marcus Hook on April 14, 1981. In January 1984, a crisis center took a phone call from someone who said they killed Pierson.
Call tracing efforts identified Horne's home address as the source of the call. Authorities found a pair of billy clubs at his house, along with other evidence.
In Feb. 1984, Pierson's mother said that she and her daughter had often gone to the garage where Horne worked, and he quit working at the garage the day after Pierson disappeared.
Her skeletal remains were found near railroad tracks at Seventh and Market streets in Marcus Hook on July 18, 1984, about 300 yards from Horne's home, the District Attorney's office said.
Nearly 10 years after Pierson's body was found, investigators talked to the first of the two currently unnamed suspects, and he said that he believed Walker and the second unnamed suspect could have killed Pierson, according to prosecutors.
The DA's office said that later in 1994, a man who shared a jail cell with Walker told investigators that Walker had admitted to carrying Pierson's body to the train tracks with Horne and the first of the unnamed suspects, and the three of them buried her body. Walker had also reportedly told his cellmate that Horne had struck Pierson before they went to bury her.
During other interviews in 1994-95 cited by the DA's office, Walker said he had been at Horne's home on the day of the killing when the two of them, both unnamed suspects and Pierson played a game called "Spin the Stick."
Walker told investigators that Horne struck Pierson with a stick, the second unnamed suspect gave Horne a clothesline to tie her up, Horne put the victim in bags, and the four of them took her to the Marcus Hook school parking lot.
Walker also said that when they arrived, the second unnamed suspect hit Pierson with a railroad spike, and that Horne and the first suspect threatened Walker to never speak about the murder.
The DA's office also said that Walker told investigators that he had later returned to where Pierson was buried by the railroad tracks to "have sex with the corpse."
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Horne was arrested for firearms violations in 1995 and in 1997 for stalking and was convicted. He died while in custody in 2013.
Investigators interviewed Horne's wife the same year he died, and during htat interview, she admitted that she believed he killed Pierson.
In 2018, investigators found that suspects had talked about Pierson's murder with "numerous acquaintances." Between then and now, after gathering weapons, case facts and a study of photos of the victim's remains, investigators discovered that Pierson's injuries were consistent with the weapons used.
“For 40 long years, the family of Denise Pierson has sought answers in connection with the death of their loved one. We hope that today’s announcement brings a measure of healing and closure that they’ve been denied for too long,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
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“As with any cold case Homicide Investigation, the passage of time should not be looked at as a burden to the investigation, but rather an advantage,” said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper First Class Andrew Martin.
“It is often found that relationships change throughout the years. Witnesses who may have been reluctant to come forward in the past, are now more willing to assist. People previously confided in by suspects because they were trustworthy may not have the same loyalties 40 years later, and this is exactly what we have found with this investigation.”
Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of other suspects. The Pennsylvania State Police ask you to call them with information at 215-452-5216.
