Pennsylvania man arrested, charged with killing wife in 2017, Chester County DA says
Police in Chester County on Wednesday arrested the husband of a Pennsylvania woman who went missing eight years ago. The man, Allen Gould, has been charged with the murder of Anna Maciejewska, the .
Maciejewska was a beloved mother from Malvern and a woman with a strong circle of friends who prosecutors said would never have up and left.
She was last heard from on March 28, 2017. The investigation took years to come together. In that time, frantic searches for information on her whereabouts went off without much success.
Pennsylvania State Police and the Chester County district attorney announced charges of first-degree murder, accusing Gould of killing her.
To this day, investigators said they have not recovered Maciejewska's body. That is one of the reasons prosecutors said this case took so long to come together.
They allege Gould deceived police in the early stages of the investigation, even posing as his wife to throw off the timelines and make it appear that Maciejewska was still alive and communicating with people via her phone.
One significant red flag was when Maciejewska, who was born in Poland, sent a happy birthday text to her father years ago. The Polish words were not correct, according to prosecutors.
Friends of Maciejewska came to the press conference to hear the news about the arrest.
"Anna, she was a very intelligent, sweet coworker, friend, very caring. Just a lovely, generous person," her friend and coworker Ellen Lee said.
The DA said the "totality" of evidence and small details in the case "demonstrates that [Gould] was being incredibly deceptive about where his wife was, and the only reason for that is that he killed her."
"The direct evidence is all of his lies about her disappearance that don't make sense. You don't get to say that you saw her drive away on April 10 and the car didn't start that day," Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Investigators said they found divorce papers in the couple's home. Additionally, the criminal complaint said that Maciejewska had been searching online for information about emotional and psychological abuse, divorce and mental health.
Maciejewska's passport, credit cards, driver's license, medications, cellphone and computers were found in her home or car when she went missing, according to the complaint.
Gould was arrested and arraigned Wednesday.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the following resources are available to help:
- 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)
- 1-800-787-3224 (TTY for the Deaf)
- 1-800-932-4632 (in Pennsylvania)
- 1-800-537-2238 (national)
