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    A former pastor is charged with murdering an 8-year-old girl nearly 50 years ago

    David Zandstra, 83, has been charged with criminal homicide, first-degree murder and other crimes. Investigators say he admitted to killing Gretchen Harrington in 1975.
    by Joe Hernandez Jul 25, 2023 2 minutes
    Gretchen Harrington (left) disappeared on Aug. 15, 1975, as she was walking to summer bible camp in a Philadelphia suburb. Former pastor David Zandstra (right), 83, has been charged with her murder.

    On the morning of Aug. 15, 1975, Gretchen Harrington, 8, left her home in Marple Township, Penn., to walk to summer bible camp and disappeared.

    About two months later, her skeletal remains were found in nearby Ridley Creek State Park, but her killer was never apprehended — until this month.

    The Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced on that it had arrested former pastor David Zandstra, 83, for Harrington's murder.

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