MEDIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — An 84-year-old former minister has been found not guilty of the 1975 kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old Marple Township girl.
It took a Delaware County jury about an hour to reach the not-guilty verdict, acquitting David Zandstra of all charges, including murder and kidnapping, related to the disappearance of Gretchen Harrington nearly 50 years ago.
Harrington was reported missing on Aug. 15, 1975, when she didn’t show up for bible school at Trinity Chapel in Marple Township. Two months later, her body was found in Ridley Creek State Park.
In 2023, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office announced Zandstra, who was then a pastor at the church, had confessed to the murder. He was brought back from Georgia to stand trial.
Zandstra’s attorneys poked holes in that confession, saying Zandstra was coerced into making it, while pointing to evidence they argued cleared their client and pointed to other suspects who have since died.
Prosecutors acknowledged the challenges of trying a 50-year-old cold case, but say the verdict won’t keep them from trying to solve others.