{"id":1982735,"date":"2023-07-25T21:52:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T01:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-pastor-charged-with-murdering-fellow-pastors-8-year-old-daughter-nearly-50-years-ago\/"},"modified":"2023-07-25T21:52:46","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T01:52:46","slug":"former-pastor-charged-with-murdering-fellow-pastors-8-year-old-daughter-nearly-50-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-pastor-charged-with-murdering-fellow-pastors-8-year-old-daughter-nearly-50-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Pastor Accused of Killing Pastor&#8217;s Daughter 50 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-pastor-charged-with-murdering-fellow-pastors-8-year-old-daughter-nearly-50-years-ago%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1982735&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>An 83-Year-Old Retired Pastor Arrested \u2064for \u2062the Kidnapping and Murder of an\u2062 8-Year-Old\u2063 Girl<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a shocking development, \u2063an 83-year-old retired pastor has been \u200barrested \u2063and charged with the \u2063kidnapping and murder of a\u2064 fellow pastor&#8217;s 8-year-old daughter in 1975, Pennsylvania \u200cofficials announced on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Zandstra of Marietta, Georgia, \u200cwas charged by Delaware County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Jack \u2062Stollsteimer after he allegedly confessed to the \u2063slaying of Gretchen Harrington. The young girl&#8217;s remains were found weeks after she disappeared \u200con \u2063her way\u2063 to\u200c a Bible camp in August of 1975, as \u2062reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcphiladelphia.com\/news\/local\/1975-cold-case-murder-charges-gretchen-harrington\/3610465\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the time of Harrington&#8217;s murder, Zandstra \u200dserved as a reverend at Trinity\u200c Christian Reformed Church, \u200done of two churches\u2063 Harrington\u2063 attended \u2014 the other church being Reformed Presbyterian Church, where her father pastored.\u200d On the day Harrington\u2063 disappeared, her\u2062 father became\u2064 worried when she \u2064didn&#8217;t arrive\u200d at the \u2062camp, according to the criminal complaint, as reported by CNN.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>&#8220;This man is evil.\u200d He killed this\u2064 poor 8-year-old girl he \u200cknew and who trusted him.&#8221;<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When\u200b Harrington was walking to the Bible camp \u2064alone, Zandstra pulled up\u2064 alongside her and offered her a ride, according\u2062 to Stollsteimer. \u2063The \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-cultural-change-coming-to-america\/\" title=\"Radical Cultural Change Coming to America?\">district attorney<\/a> said Zandstra gave police a statement \u2064admitting\u2063 that\u200d he\u2063 took Harrington to\u2063 a secluded place\u2064 and told \u2062her to take her clothes off. When she refused, Zandstra allegedly beat her to death with his fists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Two months \u2063went by before Harrington&#8217;s skeletal remains were found at\u200d Ridley Creek State Park, more than\u2064 seven miles from\u200b her home. \u2064The medical \u2063examiner said she\u200b died from &#8220;two \u2062or more blunt impacts\u200b to the skull&#8221;\u2064 and ruled her death \u2063a homicide, according to court documents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In January, \u200bPennsylvania State Police learned of new \u200devidence from \u200ba confidential \u200dinformant who had been\u200d friends with one of Zandstra&#8217;s daughters. The new evidence included a diary the informant kept in 1975 where \u2063she wrote that Zandstra \u2062&#8221;touched her groin area&#8221; two separate \u2063times when she attended\u200d a sleepover at his\u200d home,\u2064 according to the complaint.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In \u200canother diary entry from September 1975, the informant wrote, &#8220;Guess \u2064what? A man \u2062tried \u200cto kidnap Holly twice! \u2063It&#8217;s a secret\u200c so I can&#8217;t tell anyone, but I\u2064 think he might be the one who \u2062kidnapped Gretchen.\u2062 I think it was \u2063Mr. Z.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-9096\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1690368573946000&#038;usg=AOvVaw0SC9MF9lhNsKkAePnLU71p\">CLICK HERE\u200c TO\u200b GET \u200dTHE\u2062 DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zandstra moved from Pennsylvania after Harrington&#8217;s disappearance, living in \u2064Plano, Texas, before moving to Marietta, Georgia. Investigators confronted Zandstra in\u200b Georgia \u200cwith the new evidence, and he admitted to\u200d committing the crime, according \u200dto the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/19-year-old-arrested-in-calif-for-double-murder\/\" title=\"19-year-old arrested in Calif. for double murder\">district attorney&#8217;<\/a>s news release. Police collected DNA \u200dfrom Zandstra to compare it to DNA collected from the \u200dcrime scene and to\u2062 open cases from \u200dacross the\u200c state\u2063 and the country, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/family-disgusted-with-judges-treatment-of-man-who-allegedly-killed-their-kid-in-dui-crash\/\" title=\"Family outraged by judge's handling of DUI crash that claimed their child's life.\">district\u2064 attorney<\/a> said.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>&#8220;With\u2063 today&#8217;s announcement of an arrest, \u200cwe are extremely hopeful that the person who is responsible \u2064for \u2062the \u2064heinous crime that\u2062 was committed \u200bagainst\u200d our Gretchen will be held accountable.&#8221;<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;It&#8217;s\u200c difficult to express\u200d the emotions that \u200cwe are\u200c feeling \u2062as we take one step\u2062 closer to justice,&#8221; read a statement from the \u2063family. &#8220;Gretchen was only\u200d 8 \u200dyears \u2062old when she was \u2064suddenly taken away from us on her way to \u2062church on\u2063 Friday, August \u200d15, 1975. \u200bIf\u2064 you met Gretchen,\u2063 you \u2064were instantly her\u200c friend. She exuded kindness\u2062 to all\u200d and was sweet and gentle. Even now,\u200b when people share their memories of her, the\u2063 first thing they talk about \u2062is how amazing\u2062 she was and\u2064 still is\u2026at just\u2063 8 \u2062years old, she had a\u200d lifelong \u2062impact \u2063on those around her.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An 83-year-old retired pastor from Marietta, Georgia, was arrested for the 1975 kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Pennsylvania. David Zandstra confessed to the crime, leading to charges filed by District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. The remains of Gretchen Harrington were discovered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":1982736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1982735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1982735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1982735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1982735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1982736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1982735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1982735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1982735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}