Pastor at kidnapped US girl's funeral in 1975 charged with her murder

A retired US religion pastor who presided astir fractional a period agone astatine the ceremonial of a kidnapped eight-year-old miss has been charged with her murder.

Gretchen Harrington went missing successful the Philadelphia suburb of Marple Township connected the greeting of 15 August 1975 portion attending summertime Bible camp.

Earlier this year, an anonymous pistillate told investigators she believed her champion friend's begetter was the culprit.

David Zandstra, 83, is present charged with execution and kidnapping of a minor.

"He is each parent's worst nightmare," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters connected Monday.

"He killed this mediocre eight-year-old miss helium knew and who trusted him. And then, helium acted arsenic if helium was a household friend, not lone during her burial and the play aft that, but for years."

Interest successful the lawsuit was revived successful portion by a publication published past year, called Marple's Gretchen Harrington Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost successful Suburban Philadelphia.

In 1975, Mr Zandstra was pastor astatine the Trinity Christian Reform Church. Bible camps were held connected its premises each greeting and helium would past transport the children to a 2nd church.

But Gretchen ne'er showed up astatine the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and it was Mr Zandstra himself who reported her disappearance to constabulary that morning.

Her remains would beryllium recovered successful a adjacent wooded country astir 2 months later.

The fishy was a household person of the Harringtons, helped hunt for her and adjacent presided implicit the child's funeral, sources told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

Investigators accidental Mr Zandstra had invited Gretchen into his car erstwhile she was retired of presumption of her precocious father, who had watched her locomotion up the roadworthy from the household home.

A witnesser interviewed soon afterwards reported seeing the miss talk to the operator of a conveyance akin to Mr Zandstra's greenish Rambler presumption wagon.

But erstwhile interviewed by constabulary astatine the time, the pastor denied having seen Gretchen that day.

In January this year, investigators spoke with the champion person of Mr Zandstra's daughter.

She told them she often slept implicit astatine their location and, astatine property 10, erstwhile woke to find the pastor groping her.

The pistillate besides showed constabulary a 1975 diary introduction successful which she wrote: "I deliberation helium mightiness beryllium the 1 who kidnapped Gretchen. I deliberation it was Mr Z."

Mr Zandstra moved respective times, surviving successful California and Texas earlier his apprehension past week successful Georgia by Pennsylvania State Police, astatine which constituent constabulary accidental helium confessed to the crime.

The fishy is being held successful a section jailhouse and is owed to beryllium extradited to Pennsylvania.

Joanna Falcone Sullivan, who wrote Marple's Gretchen Harrington Tragedy, told the BBC she believes her publication with co-author Mike Mathis helped aboveground caller leads.

The writer said they interviewed Mr Zandstra for the publication and helium "sounded similar helium didn't retrieve everything that transpired that morning. His woman remembered a batch better".

"We benignant of chalked it up to age," Mrs Sullivan said.

She added: "The communicative has affected the assemblage truthful much.

"This transgression inactive comes up successful the Facebook neighbourhood groups."

The authorities trooper to whom Mr Zandstra confessed his transgression said Monday helium seemed relieved.

"I don't cognize if he's atrocious for what helium did, but this is simply a value disconnected his shoulders for sure," Eugene Tray said.

In a statement, the Harrington household said the apprehension felt similar "one measurement person to justice".

"If you met Gretchen, you were instantly her friend. She exuded kindness to each and was saccharine and gentle," they wrote.

"Even now, erstwhile radical stock their memories of her, the archetypal happening they speech astir is however astonishing she was and inactive is… astatine conscionable 8 years old, she had a lifelong interaction connected those astir her."