A Pennsylvania man has been charged with homicide and kidnapping greater than 40 years after an 18-year-old girl was killed, prosecutors introduced Friday.
Investigators had lengthy suspected two males named within the announcement Friday had performed a job within the loss of life of Denise Marie Pierson, who was reported lacking in April 1981 after she didn't return dwelling from visiting a pal in Marcus Hook. Her physique was present in July 1984 close to the railroad tracks in Marcus Hook about 300 yards from the house of a type of suspects.
Wayne Anthony Walker, 58, was charged Thursday with a number of counts of homicide, kidnapping and conspiracy. It was unclear from court docket information if Walker, who was being held on the county jail on unrelated assault expenses, had an legal professional.
Delaware County District Legal professional Jack Stollsteimer and State Police investigators additionally introduced that Peter Horne, who died in 2013 whereas incarcerated on unrelated stalking expenses, was a co-conspirator within the younger girl's loss of life. Investigators stated two different people are nonetheless beneath investigation for his or her potential function and provided a $5,000 reward for data resulting in further arrests.
"For forty lengthy years the household of Denise Pierson has sought solutions in reference to the loss of life of their cherished one. We hope that right now's announcement brings a measure of therapeutic and closure that they have been denied for too lengthy," Stollsteimer wrote in a assertion.
Through the years, investigators had interviewed Walker, Horne and different suspects, together with after they are saying Walker gave particulars of the killing to a former cellmate when he was incarcerated. And after a name positioned to a trauma heart claiming duty for killing Pierson was traced again to Horne's dwelling. Through the years, bodily proof together with batons often known as "blackjacks," rope, objects of clothes and jewellery had been recovered, however investigators felt they didn't have sufficient proof to cost the boys in Pierson's loss of life.
Investigators re-opened the case in 2018, and in reviewing proof, re-discovered a 6-inch folding knife that had been discovered with Pierson's stays. In addition they re-interviewed acquaintances of the suspects and commenced piecing collectively that a number of of the suspects had over the many years revealed particulars of the killing to these potential witnesses.
In 2021, troopers contacted a forensic professional on the Florida Institute of Forensic Anthropology and Utilized Sciences on the College of South Florida who re-examined pictures of the stays and different proof and was in a position to present Pierson had a puncture wound alongside her neck close to her jaw from a pointy weapon matching the folding knife. Investigators say the knife and the brand new post-mortem data helped corroborate statements from potential witnesses.
"As with all chilly case Murder Investigation, the passage of time shouldn't be checked out as a burden to the investigation, however relatively a bonus. It's typically discovered that relationships change all through the years. Witnesses who might have been reluctant to return ahead up to now, are actually extra prepared to help. Individuals beforehand confided in by suspects as a result of they had been reliable might not have the identical loyalty's 40 years later, and that is precisely what we've got discovered with this investigation" stated Trooper First Class Andrew Martin.