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Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost
With 50-year-old cold murder cases there is rarely the opportunity to bring the
perpetrator, even if identified, to justice. Odds are that he, or she, is long deceased.
But not so in the case of 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington of Marple, PA, a quiet
suburb of Philadelphia. In 1975 she was abducted on her way to Bible Camp, brutally
murdered and her naked body dumped in Ridley State Park.
In 2022, authors Joanna Falcone Sullivan and Mike Mathis, who grew up in Marple
and were childhood contemporaries of Gretchen, decided to write a book about
the crime, its effect on the family of Gretchen and, for that matter, the entire
town. They interviewed both state and town authorities and were even given access to
investigation files. They sat down with Gretchen’s family and friends and unwittingly the murderer and his family as well.
Many folks credit the authors with revitalizing the investigation after 5 decades
and, in no small part helping identify the murderer and bring him to justice.
Joanna Falcone Sullivan, one of the authors of Marple’s Gretchen Harrington
Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia, joins
us today on MURDER MOST FOUL.
View all episodes
By James Sulanowski
4.3
1010 ratings
With 50-year-old cold murder cases there is rarely the opportunity to bring the
perpetrator, even if identified, to justice. Odds are that he, or she, is long deceased.
But not so in the case of 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington of Marple, PA, a quiet
suburb of Philadelphia. In 1975 she was abducted on her way to Bible Camp, brutally
murdered and her naked body dumped in Ridley State Park.
In 2022, authors Joanna Falcone Sullivan and Mike Mathis, who grew up in Marple
and were childhood contemporaries of Gretchen, decided to write a book about
the crime, its effect on the family of Gretchen and, for that matter, the entire
town. They interviewed both state and town authorities and were even given access to
investigation files. They sat down with Gretchen’s family and friends and unwittingly the murderer and his family as well.
Many folks credit the authors with revitalizing the investigation after 5 decades
and, in no small part helping identify the murderer and bring him to justice.
Joanna Falcone Sullivan, one of the authors of Marple’s Gretchen Harrington
Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia, joins
us today on MURDER MOST FOUL.
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