'Evil,' 'Depraved:' Marple PD Chief Issues Murder Cold Case Statement

MARPLE TOWNSHIP, PA — Earlier this week, authorities announced the arrest of an 83-year-old former minister in connection with the kidnapping and killing of 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington of Marple.

Harrington was kidnapped in August 1975 and her body was found a few weeks later, shocking the Marple Township and Delaware County communities.

A break in the case came last year after it was reopened in 2017, leading to David Zandstra being charged with murder, homicide, and related crimes.

Marple Township Police Chief Brandon Graeff issued the following statement Wednesday on the new development in the nearly 50-year-old cold case:

As I’m sure many of you have heard by now, after providing a detailed confession to PA State Police investigators, David Zandstra, 83, has been arrested and charged for the kidnapping and killing Gretchen, a sweet, innocent eight-year-old girl just beginning her life. “Evil” doesn’t adequately represent this man, and “depraved” can’t come close to describing his behavior, but it’s the best I can come up with. Besides, I want to focus on the Good (yes, the capital “G” is intentional) that Gretchen’s memory has given so much life to in the past 48 years.

On August 14, 1975, Marple Township was a suburban community not unlike so many across this great Land. A safe refuge from crime and decay, where kids played unsupervised for hours, their destinations known not even to them let alone their parents, only coming home when the proverbial streetlights came on. That slice of Americana and innocence was shattered on August 15th, when word quickly spread throughout the community of an eight-year-old girl who disappeared on her way to bible camp, less than ¼ mile from her home. The freedoms of childhood were swiftly and noticeably curtailed. Kids were no longer allowed to stray too far from the watchful eye of a parent, and parents were much less willing to take for granted the notion of their neighborhood being a secure bubble. That was the only thing known that day and those that followed. What wasn’t known was that David Zandstra, a trusted friend of the Harrington family and by profession a purported man of God, took the life of Gretchen Harrington and altered the lives of thousands in our community forever. But he didn’t have the last say, Gretchen did.

Hundreds of citizen volunteers stepped forward to search for the missing girl, who was a stranger to many of them but still one of ours, desperately hoping for the best. Sadly, the second gut punch came two months later when Gretchen’s body was found in Ridley Creek State Park. What everyone hoped would take only days or maybe weeks - identify, arrest, convict, and punish the person(s) responsible - turned into 48 years. But it finally happened, because Good never stopped or forgot: Marple Police detectives who dug into the case file every so many years and tried so hard to find something that maybe was missed or overlooked; PA State Police investigators who utilized new technology and their sense of duty and commanders who never let the dust collect and assigned their best and brightest to the cold case; journalists Mike Mathis and Joanna Falcone Sullivan, two Broomall kids themselves in 1975, who could never shake that day from their mind’s eye and decided to write a book together, published in 2022. Good worked through so many people for decades and eventually brought everything together and held Evil to account.

Mike Mathis cold called me in early 2021, introduced himself, explained what he and Joanna were thinking of doing, and asked for access to the Harrington file. I wouldn’t have known either one of them if they walked in front of me but as I recall I barely hesitated and agreed. A leap of faith, perhaps, but I couldn’t honestly answer my own question of “Why not?” The wheels of justice for Gretchen got a squirt of oil and began to grind a little faster. Over the next two years calls were made, meetings were held, information was exchanged, a book was published, publicity was renewed, and here we are today.

I suspect my personal feelings are not so different from yours. I am sad for Gretchen, her parents, and her sisters for being robbed of a beautiful life of unknown potential. I am sad for the Marple police officers who were intimately involved in this case since Day 1 who, like Gretchen’s father, did not live to see this day, went to their graves haunted by the thought of being unable to get justice for Gretchen. However, I am profoundly grateful for those who quietly demonstrated duty and honor and determination in the pursuit of justice here on earth. And for all the Good.