Mike Mathis and Joanna Falcone Sullivan will discuss the updated and revised version of their book Marple’s Gretchen Harrington Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia and will offer insight into the arrest and trial of the Rev. David Zandstra.
About the Book
Friday, August 15, 1975, began as a typical summer day in the suburbs. Young children played with their friends; adults prepared for work or planned for their vacation at the Jersey Shore. That all changed in the hours before noon, when Gretchen Harrington, the eight-year-old daughter of a Presbyterian minister and his wife, was kidnapped while walking to a Vacation Bible School less than a quarter mile from her house. Her body was found by a jogger in a state park nearly two months later. The crime forever changed the lives of the children who were about Gretchen’s age and their parents, many of whom chose to live in Marple Township because they considered it a safe refuge from the crime-ridden streets of Philadelphia. In this revised and expanded edition, journalists Mike Mathis and Joanna Falcone Sullivan examine the kidnapping, murder, nearly five-decade-long investigation and the community’s collective shock when authorities arrested a suspect in 2023.
In this revised and expanded edition, a harrowing new arrest in the cold case, intense trial and key developments are presented alongside the original narrative.
About the Authors
Mike Mathis and Joanna Falcone Sullivan grew up in Marple Township and vividly recall the kidnapping and murder of Gretchen Harrington and its effect on their community. Like with the people interviewed in this book, the tragedy was forever seared into their memories. Both authors started their journalism careers in middle school and have worked for decades in the newspaper and communications industry. As adults, they long talked about writing this book and finally saw an opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Registration is not required.
