Gretchen Harrington cold case: Author of true crime book on murder reflects on arrest
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Delaware County native, who was just a child at the time of Gretchen Harrington's murder, recently wrote a true crime book about the unsolved case.
Her book was just released last year and CBS News Philadelphia talked to her about whether she believes it may have led to a break in this case.
When Joanna Falcone Sullivan and her co-author Mike Mathis wrote the true crime book "Marple's Gretchen Harrington Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia," the 48-year-old murder mystery of 8-year-old Harrington was still an unsolved cold case until now.
On Monday, Delco officials announced the arrest of 83-year-old David Zandstra, a pastor at Harrington's church at the time, who's now living in Georgia.
"He is every parent's worst nightmare," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
"I was stunned," Sullivan said. "The fact that this case is finally, potentially coming to a close it's very exciting to hear this news. It's still very sad, you know, we can't change what happened."
Sullivan was 9 years old in 1975 and living in Broomall, Delaware County, when 8-year-old Harrington was kidnapped while walking to a vacation bible school, less than a quarter mile from her home.
Harrington's body was found by a jogger in Ridley Creek State Park nearly two months later.
The case has always haunted Sullivan, a 30-year veteran journalist, so she wrote the book detailing the ongoing investigation.
"I had wanted to write this story for decades," Sullivan said. "I grew up in Broomall. My co-author Mike Mathis grew up in Broomall as well. He grew up in Lawrence Park, where this happened."
"It affected both of us as kids, and it affected a lot of kids our age," she added.
Sullivan started the book during the pandemic and it was just released last October.
"We started interviewing people, we went to Marple Police Department and went through the file repeatedly," Sullivan said.
Does she believe her book may have helped police get the break they needed to make an arrest in this case nearly 50 years later?
"We've been told that by Marple Police and we're encouraged that, you know, that we somehow contributed to this," Sullivan said. "I think we got people talking again."
The novel was Sullivan's first book, but she says she does plan to revise this true crime book to now reflect the arrest and any updated information about this case as it unfolds.