Closing A Cold Case Nearly 48 Years Later: The Murder Of Gretchen Harrington

The FOX True Crime Podcast w/ Emily Compagno

Fox News

True Crime

4.8 • 708 Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Almost 48 years ago, eight-year-old Gretchen Harrington went missing after leaving her home in Marple Township, PA. Gretchen was last seen walking to her vacation Bible school, yet she never made it there. On October 14th, 1975, nearly two months after her disappearance, Gretchen's remains were found in Ridley Creek State Park. For decades, the identity of Gretchen's killer remained a mystery. However, on July 24th, 2023, 83-year-old retired pastor David Zandstra was charged with her murder. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer breaks down the timeline of events and explains how police were led to examine Zandstra as a suspect. Later, he shares why bringing justice to Gretchen and her family all these years later was so important to him. Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno If you have a story or topic we should feature on the FOX True Crime Podcast, send us an email at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	At any given moment, there are up to 3,000 people in witness protection in the UK,
0:06.3	giving up their life for a new identity in a safe house.
0:10.6	But what happens when it all goes wrong?
0:15.2	Three shot, two male, one female.
0:17.5	And the detective inspector is Nile.
0:19.3	It's a safe house.
0:20.5	Sheltering, a protective witness and his family. Who did this? I am going detective inspector on his Nile. It's a safe house. Sheltering, a protective witness, and his family.
0:22.7	Who did this?
0:23.4	I am going to find out, I promise.
0:25.3	Protection.
0:26.4	Coming soon on ITV1 and ITVX.
0:33.1	The streets of Marple Township, Pennsylvania, were enjoyed by the families that lived in that idyllic small town.
0:42.9	During the hot summer months, the sidewalks were decorated with hot scotch games, bicycles, and kickballs.
0:49.1	On the morning of August 15, 1975, 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington set out along Lawrence Road for her morning
0:56.5	walk to vacation Bible School. Her father waved goodbye, watching from the porch of their brick
1:02.6	home. It was the last time he would see his young daughter, and the last day that the
1:08.5	families of Marple Township felt safe in their community.
1:12.4	I'm Emily Campano, and this is the Fox True Crime podcast.
1:48.7	Thank you. Gretchen Harrington never made it to the Trinity Chapel Christian Reformed Church that day.
1:54.9	Fear permeated through neighboring communities in Pennsylvania as the search for Gretchen ensued.
2:05.6	On October 14th, nearly two months after she went missing, Gretchen's small body was found in Ridley Creek State Park. She had been brutally murdered.
2:08.6	For almost 50 years, the cold case haunted Delaware County.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -601 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Fox News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Fox News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.