A retired minister was arrested for the 1975 murder of an 8-year-old girl who was walking to Bible camp.
Gretchen Harrington left her home the morning of Aug. 15, 1975 to walk to summer Bible camp. She was never seen alive again.
Zandstra was arrested in Georgia on July 17 after allegedly confessing to the crime amid questioning. He remains there after being denied bail and is currently fighting extradition to Pennsylvania, according to District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. The DA's office, however, is going after a governor's warrant to bring him to Delaware County.
On that August morning in 1975, Zandstra offered Harrington a ride to camp after seeing her walking there alone. This was a rarity for the 8-year-old who usually walked to camp with her sisters, but that day, she was by herself due to a recent birth in her family. Widespread searches ensued in the weeks that followed and ended two months later when Harrington's body was found, with her clothes"folded and in a neat pile" nearby and her underwear hanging from a tree branch, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The cause of death was ruled a homicide,
The woman told police she often slept over at Zandstra's home, as she was best friends with his daughter. During one sleepover when she was 10 years old, CI#1 said she woke up to Zandstra groping her groin area. She shared this with his daughter, who replied that her father did that sometimes, the complaint said.
After this confession, Trooper Eugene Tray said Zandstra looked"relieved," though he said he doesn't think the now 84-year-old ever thought this arrest would come.
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