Former NorCal pastor arrested in 1975 cold case murder of young girl
This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.
FAIRFIELD, Calif. — Police on Monday said they arrested a former Northern California pastor in connection with the 1975 murder of an 8-year-old girl in Pennsylvania.
According to Jack Stollsteimer, the Delaware County district attorney, troopers went to Georgia and interviewed 83-year-old David Zandstra, who admitted he killed Gretchen Harrington and lied about it for 48 years.
"This man is evil," Stollsteimer said. "He killed this poor 8-year-old girl he knew and who trusted him. And, then, he acted as if he was a family friend, not only during her burial and the period after that, but for years."
Harrington was walking to bible camp in August 1975, and officials said Zandstra picked her up, took her to a secluded spot and killed her.
Officials said a book recently published by a pair of authors with ties to the Philadelphia area on the cold case murder helped investigators solve the case.
The website for the Christian Reformed Church in North America shows Zandstra was a pastor at several of its churches in different parts of the country, including in Solano County. The website shows he was at the Fairfield Christian Reformed Church from 1990 to 2005.
"We recognize that we live in a broken and sinful world, where violence can happen anywhere - even within our churches and by those we hold to the highest standards," a statement from the Christian Reformed Church read.
Zandstra is in police custody in Georgia and is fighting extradition.
Source: SFGATE
