UNITED STATES NEWS

Retired Georgia minister is found not guilty in the 1975 killing of a girl in Pennsylvania

Jan 17, 2025, 4:15 PM

David Zandstra, escorted out by Pennsylvania State Police, on Sept. 28, 2023, at the Delaware Count...

David Zandstra, escorted out by Pennsylvania State Police, on Sept. 28, 2023, at the Delaware County Court House in Media. Pa., was found not guilty Friday, Jan 17, 2025, in the killing of an 8-year-old girl whose remains were found in a southeastern Pennsylvania park almost a half-century ago. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — A retired minister from Georgia was found not guilty Friday in the killing of an 8-year-old girl whose remains were found in a southeastern Pennsylvania park almost a half-century ago.

A jury acquitted David Zandstra, 84, of the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, after deliberating for an hour following a four-day trial.

Zandstra was charged in the summer of 2023 with kidnapping and killing Gretchen Harrington, who disappeared in 1975 while walking alone to a Bible camp at a chapel where Zandstra was a pastor. Her body was found two months later by a jogger in Ridley Creek State Park in Media, Pennsylvania.

Harrington was offered a ride that day by Zandstra, the Delaware County district attorney said when the charges were filed. Prosecutors said Zandstra had confessed to the killing after investigators received new information and then interviewed the retired minister.

His attorney, Mark Much, told jurors that detectives pressured and tricked Zandstra into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit. Defense attorneys said there was no physical evidence linking the retired minister to the girl’s death and that police had investigated other suspects who were more likely to be the killer.

Defense attorney Christopher Boggs told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Zandstra’s family was glad he could come home after 18 months in custody.

In the days after the girl disappeared, hundreds of people searched nearby wooded areas, and authorities distributed more than 2,000 leaflets and set up a 24-hour hotline that took hundreds of calls, The Inquirer reported.

When the girl’s body was found, her clothing was “folded and in a neat pile” near her body with her underwear hanging from a tree branch “like a flag … as if to call attention to the place,” the newspaper said at the time.

United States News

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives...

Associated Press

Gabbard awaits a final Senate vote on her nomination to be the director of national intelligence

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s unconventional pick for director of national intelligence, awaited a final Senate vote Wednesday on her nomination to oversee and coordinate the work of America’s 18 different intelligence agencies. Initial skepticism about the military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii over her past comments sympathetic to Russia, […]

12 minutes ago

FILE - The Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, USA, Oct. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael D...

Associated Press

Looking for love this Valentine’s Day? Don’t fall for Instagram romance scams

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — If your social media suitor seems too good to be true, it might be a scam. Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms is urging users to stay vigilant about “ romance scams ” ahead of Valentine’s Day, warning of unsolicited messages through its apps and other social media platforms, […]

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump arrives to greet Marc Fogel at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in W...

Associated Press

The Latest: Consumer protection regulators get fill-in-the-blank firing memos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s longstanding friendly rapport with President Donald Trump could be tested as the Indian leader kicks off a visit to Washington on Wednesday, eager to avoid tariffs that have been slapped on others and threats of further taxes and imports. More tariffs are expected, however: Trump is taking additional action to upset […]

2 hours ago

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott A...

Associated Press

Marbury v. Madison, the case that established the courts’ power to review the law, explained

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to respecting the rulings of courts, President Donald Trump has been of two minds. If the decision goes his way, as it did when the Supreme Court ruled 11 months ago that his name should be on the ballot in Colorado, he hails it as a “BIG WIN FOR […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Russian citizen freed in US in exchange for Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel

The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the unidentified individual would return to Russia “in the coming days,” and when they are in Russia, their name would be revealed. Fogel, an American […]

5 hours ago

FILE - Tiger Stadium is seen before an NCAA football game between LSU and Northwestern State in Bat...

Associated Press

Judge orders LSU to reinstate professor who was removed from class following political comments

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A judge has ordered Louisiana State University to fully reinstate a professor who was removed from his teaching duties last month after he used vulgar language to criticize Gov. Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump during a lecture. The ruling, which allows tenured law professor Ken Levy to return to […]

9 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Collins Comfort Masters

Collins Comfort Masters: Your go-to plumbing experts in Arizona

Collins Comfort Masters, a trusted name in HVAC, water and plumbing since 1985, is you go-to plumbers for the residents of Phoenix and the Valley.

...

Bright Wealth Management

How IRAs are a helpful tool in retirement planning

When it comes to retirement planning, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can be a great tool for income growth.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Why a Heating Tune-Up is Essential Before Winter

PHOENIX, AZ — With cooler weather on the horizon, making sure your heating system is prepped and ready can make all the difference in staying comfortable this winter.

Retired Georgia minister is found not guilty in the 1975 killing of a girl in Pennsylvania