February 11, 2022

Pennsylvania State Police from the Media Barracks made an arrest in a 41-year-old cold-case murder in Delaware County. In a press release, police said they charged Wayne Walker with criminal homicide, murder of the first-, second-, and third-degree, kidnapping, and conspiracy in connection with the murder of Denise Marie Pierson of Marcus Hook.

In addition to Walker, Peter Horne, formerly of Marcus Hook, was identified as a co-conspirator, but he is dead and can’t be charged. The press release said that two other suspects, not publicly identified, are also under investigation. There is a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of additional suspects. Anyone with information should contact Trooper First Class Andrew J. Martin, Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit, Pennsylvania State Police, Troop K, Philadelphia, at 215-452-5216.

“For 40 long years, the family of Denise Pierson has sought answers in connection with the death of their loved one. We hope that today’s announcement brings a measure of healing and closure that they’ve been denied for too long,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

Pierson was 18 at the time of her disappearance on April 14, 1981. She failed to return home from a friend’s house. Her remains were found near the railroad tracks located at 7th Street and Market Street in Marcus Hook — about 300 yards from Horne’s home — in July of 1984. An autopsy performed in 1984 revealed Pearson’s death was due to blunt impact injuries.

Several months before the body was found, in January of 1984, the Crisis Intervention Center at Crozer-Chester Hospital received a call from an unidentified caller who said that he had killed Denise Pierson. The call was traced to Horne’s home in Marcus Hook.

The investigation eventually led to Walker. The press release said that in 1994, a former cellmate of Walker’s said Walker confided in him that he had been at a party at Horne’s home with Pearson and two other people, the unidentified two other suspects.

According to the press release, “[T]hey played a game called ‘spin the stick.’ During the game, the victim charged for the door in an attempt to flee the residence. Defendant Walker stated that Horne then hit the victim with a stick, and she started to bleed. Suspect 2 provided Horne with a clothesline used to tie up the victim. Horne then placed the victim in green trash bags. Horne, Suspect 1, and Suspect 2 carried the victim to a wheelbarrow on the patio,” and all four, including Walker, took her body to the tracks.

Walker is currently incarcerated at George W. Hill Correctional Facility on unrelated assault charges.