He told officers he drove the child to a wooded area and told her to take off her clothes, the complaint said. Zandstra admitted he offered Gretchen a ride to the summer camp the morning of her disappearance, according to the complaint. Investigators learned the former pastor now lives in Marietta, Georgia, and confronted him there with the new evidence last month, according to the release. “Guess what? A man tried to kidnap Holly twice! It’s a secret so I can’t tell anyone, but I think he might be the one who kidnapped Gretchen,” read the diary entry from September 1975, according to the criminal complaint. The informant’s diary also contained an entry about a separate incident, which she said was an attempted kidnapping. The informant told investigators when she told Zandstra’s daughter what happened, the daughter replied that her father “did that sometimes,” the release said. The woman showed police a diary she kept in 1975 in which she wrote that the then-pastor “touched her groin area” on two occasions while she was attending a sleepover at his home, the complaint said. It wasn’t until this January that Pennsylvania State Police learned new evidence from the confidential informant, who had been best friends with one of Zandstra’s daughters in the 1970s and attended sleepovers at his home, the district attorney’s office said. Delaware County District Attorney's Office Ultimately, an interview with a woman who was friends with the suspect’s daughter in the 1970s – and her diary entries from that time – led to a pivotal break in the case.ĭecades-old diary entry sheds new light on caseĭavid Zandstra was arrested last week and charged in connection with Gretchen's death, officials say. Nearly five decades went by as the case laid dormant. Her cause of death was homicide, and the medical examiner said Gretchen suffered “two or more blunt impacts to the skull,” according to court documents. Two months later, Gretchen’s skeletal remains were found in nearby Ridley Creek State Park. Investigators noted there were inaccuracies in Zandstra’s early statements and they had questions about how the pastor knew so much about what Gretchen was wearing that day, even though she never arrived at camp, according to a newly released criminal complaint.Īt the time, Zandstra denied knowing anything about the disappearance, the complaint said. Gretchen’s father became concerned when she failed to appear at his church, the release says, and it was Zandstra who then called police to report Gretchen’s disappearance. The camp was held at both the Trinity Church Chapel Christian Reform Church – where Zandstra was a pastor – and the Reformed Presbyterian Church – where Gretchen’s father was a pastor, the release said. The girl was last seen walking to summer Bible camp on August 15th, 1975, the release said. This case has “haunted” members of law enforcement and the small area of Marple Township since Gretchen went missing, Stollsteimer said. “Justice has been a long time coming, but we are proud and grateful to finally be able to give the community an answer,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement. Zandstra has been charged with criminal homicide, murder, kidnapping of a minor and the possession of an instrument of crime, the release said. Suspect identified in 1981 killing of a New Hampshire woman with help of genetic genealogy, attorney general says NH/1981 cold case solved after more than four decades with the help of genetic genealogy, attorney general announces New Hampshire Attorney General
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |