CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) — A 60-year-old man faces charges after allegedly killing his wife, who vanished nearly eight years ago.
According to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, on April 11, 2017, a co-worker and friend called police to report Anna Maciejewska missing. The following day, Maciejewska’s husband, Allen Gould, also called law enforcement to report his wife’s disappearance.
Troopers responded to Gould and Maciejewska’s home, and Gould explained that he last saw his wife on the morning of April 10 “as she was rushing” out of the house for work. Investigators later determined the last time anyone saw or heard from Maciejewska was on March 28, 2017. She allegedly “stopped her normal routine” the following day.
Inside the residence, officials discovered Maciejewska’s iPhone and iPad on the kitchen table, and her phone appeared to have been reset, ABC News reports. Gould allegedly claimed his wife was updating her phone, but it was taking too long, so she left it behind when she went to work. Maciejewska’s other items were reportedly left at home beside the key to her vehicle.
According to a complaint reviewed by ABC News, authorities located divorce papers inside the house. Maciejewska’s friend reportedly explained to police that the victim was unhappy in her marriage and she wanted a divorce, but Gould wouldn’t agree to it.
The couple allegedly disagreed on how to raise their son, who was 4 when Maciejewska went missing. ABC News reports that a friend told police their child having dual citizenship and a Polish passport was a “point of contention” for the couple because Gould allegedly “feared he would have no parental rights” if Maciejewska brought their son to Poland.
According to the complaint, Maciejewska “visited over 150 websites pertaining to divorce, signs of emotional abuse, psychological abuse, emotional blackmail, emotional abuse, narcissistic personality disorder, domestic abuse vs. normal martial conflict, and how to divorce an emotionally abusive husband.”
Gould allegedly “stopped helping police attempt to locate his wife, wrote a check for a criminal defense attorney, clicked on an article about strangulation,” and obtained another cellphone after reporting his wife’s disappearance
Maciejewska’s body has never been located.
During the investigation, authorities found the victim’s vehicle a few miles from the family home and learned it never started on April 10, which was inconsistent with Gould’s statement.
According to the district attorney’s office, on March 30, Maciejewska’s father received a birthday text in Polish with grammatical errors. Officials noted that the message “was researched via Google Translate, despite that Maciejewska spoke Polish fluently.” Officials reportedly found a printout of the Google Translate message in Gould’s home.
Prosecutors also said the victim was “regarded as a devoted mother and was particularly close with her family in Poland,” so “her supposed abandonment of her family is out of character.”
On May 14, prosecutors announced that Gould was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, tampering of physical evidence, and other related offenses. He remains held in the Chester County Prison without bail.
In a statement, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said, “Anna Maciejewska’s disappearance in 2017 shocked the community. Thanks to the persistence and thorough investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police, we are able to start the process of getting justice for Anna and her family.”
