A cold case that has haunted Erie County for 24 years finally has a name attached to it. David Heck, 50, of Brazil, Indiana, was arrested at his home Monday night and charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in connection with the 2002 disappearance of 20-year-old Sabrina Kahler, whose body has still never been recovered.
According to Erie News Now, prosecutors allege Heck picked Kahler up from her family's East 3rd Street home on June 24, 2002, after inviting her to go swimming. The pair were reportedly seen together first at Eagley Park, then at Tasty Twist, and afterward at the Fairview Gravel Pits, where investigators say he raped and killed her. CBS Pittsburgh reports that Heck had been charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend a few days before Kahler vanished and was on probation at the time.
A fisherman near the gravel pits reported hearing a woman's blood-curdling scream that day and later described seeing a man matching Heck's description emerge from the woods alone, per the attorney general's office, as detailed by Erie News Now. That detail, among others, became part of the grand jury presentment that ultimately recommended charges against Heck decades after Kahler disappeared.
Witnesses Told Grand Jury Heck Confessed and Enlisted Help
The break in the case came through testimony describing what Heck allegedly said and did in the aftermath. Douglas Heim told the grand jury he helped move and bury Kahler's body, while Terry Kellerman testified that Heck had claimed to have killed her, according to PennLive. Prosecutors also said Heck told a cellmate he had raped and killed a girl at the Fairview Gravel Pits.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the charges, saying the evidence led investigators to conclude that Heck raped and murdered Kahler. “This is a historical development that brings some answers for Sabrina’s loved ones and the Erie community, but it is not a day of celebration as we have not yet brought Sabrina home,” Sunday said. The investigation was lengthy and involved collaboration among the state's Cold Case Section, local investigators and the grand jury.
Body Still Missing Near Elk Creek Access
Despite the charges, Kahler's remains have never been found. Searches in the area around Elk Creek Access are ongoing, the same report from PennLive notes, though the terrain there is prone to flooding and has changed considerably in the 24 years since Kahler disappeared, complicating any recovery effort. A court declared Kahler legally dead in 2009, years after her disappearance left her case unresolved.
Authorities spent more than two decades trying to determine what happened to Kahler and searching for clues to her whereabouts, according to the Centre Daily Times. Heck was apprehended late Monday night at his Indiana home and is currently awaiting extradition back to Erie County, per a report from thecoldcases.com. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
