ERIE, PA — More than 20 years after 20-year-old Sabrina Kahler vanished from Erie County, Pennsylvania authorities say they have identified the man they believe was responsible for her disappearance and death. Attorney General Dave Sunday and Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz announced murder, rape and kidnapping charges Monday against 50-year-old David Heck of Brazil, Indiana.
Investigators said Heck was taken into custody Monday night at his home in Indiana County. The case was developed through a lengthy investigation that involved the 54th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury and the Attorney General’s newly created Cold Case Section.
How investigators say Kahler left home on June 24, 2002
According to investigators, Heck picked Kahler up from her family’s East 3rd Street home on June 24, 2002, after inviting her to go swimming. Kahler knew him through her boyfriend’s family, and authorities said the two had gone swimming together before.
From there, investigators say the pair went first to Eagley Park, where Heck became involved in a confrontation with his ex-girlfriend and several other people. They later stopped at Tasty Twist, where police briefly encountered them while responding to the earlier dispute.
After leaving the ice cream shop, authorities say Heck drove Kahler to the Fairview Gravel Pits, a wooded area with several bodies of water. Witnesses told investigators they saw Kahler in Heck’s vehicle near that location.
Grand jury testimony points to the gravel pits and a burial site near Elk Creek Access
Prosecutors said the grand jury presentment alleges Heck raped and killed Kahler at the Fairview Gravel Pits. A fisherman later reported hearing what he described as a blood-curdling scream from the area before seeing a man matching Heck’s description come out of the woods alone.
Investigators also said testimony from witnesses who had previously been unwilling to speak played a major role in building the case. Among them were two acquaintances of Heck who were with him in the hours after Kahler’s death.
One witness told the grand jury he helped Heck move and bury Kahler’s body near Elk Creek Access. Another said Heck admitted killing a young woman. Authorities also cited a former cellmate who said Heck confessed to raping and killing a woman at the gravel pits.
Why the search for Kahler’s body has remained difficult
Despite repeated searches over the years, Kahler’s body has never been found. Investigators believe she was buried near Elk Creek Access, but they said changing terrain and flooding have complicated efforts to locate remains.
The lack of a recovered body did not end the case, but it left Kahler’s disappearance among Erie County’s most enduring unsolved mysteries for nearly a quarter century. Authorities said the new witness statements and grand jury work helped move the case far enough to bring charges.
Officials call the arrest a long-awaited milestone for Kahler’s family
Sunday said the charging decision marks a significant step in a case that has weighed on the community for years. He said the evidence, including testimony from reluctant witnesses, led investigators to what he described as a single conclusion.
He said the announcement offers answers for Kahler’s loved ones, but not closure, because her body has not been recovered. Hirz said Kahler’s memory never faded for the family or for the community and that people continued to look for answers even as the case grew older.
What happens next in the prosecution of David Heck
Kahler was declared deceased by a court in 2009, years after she disappeared. The new charges place the case in the hands of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, which will prosecute it together.
As with any criminal case, the charges are allegations and Heck is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Prosecutors have not said whether additional charges are possible, but the arrest closes one of Erie County’s longest-running cold case investigations with a formal accusation against a suspect.
