PENNSYLVANIA – A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the 2017 disappearance of his wife, Anna Maciejewska, a Poland native and mother of a young son.
Allen Gould, 60, was taken into custody Wednesday and is being held without bail on charges including first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
Maciejewska, 43, was reported missing on April 11, 2017, initially by a co-worker and friend, and later by Gould himself. But investigators say her regular routine had ceased as early as March 29, and she was last seen or heard from on March 28.
Evidence cited in the criminal complaint paints a picture of a staged disappearance. On March 30, Maciejewska’s father in Poland received a birthday message from her phone—written in Polish, but with clear grammatical errors. Investigators later discovered the same message had been translated using Google Translate, even though Maciejewska spoke fluent Polish. A printed version of the message was found in Gould’s home.
Gould told police she left for work on April 10, but her vehicle’s internal data showed it was never driven that day. Her car was found over a month later, parked near an apartment complex just two miles from their home.
When officers first responded to the couple’s home, they found Maciejewska’s phone and iPad left behind. Her phone was in a startup/reset state, raising suspicions of tampering. Gould claimed she had been updating the device but left it behind when she rushed off to work — the last time he said he saw her.
Inside the home, police found divorce paperwork and signs Maciejewska had been preparing to leave the marriage. She had been enrolled in a “Divorce 101” class and had reportedly told a friend that the couple was in conflict over parenting and that she was unhappy in the relationship. Her internet history included visits to over 150 websites related to divorce, emotional abuse, and psychological manipulation.
Gould allegedly became uncooperative with authorities after filing the missing person report. According to the complaint, he quickly retained a criminal defense attorney, searched online about strangulation, and purchased a second cellphone.
Though Maciejewska’s body has never been found, the circumstantial evidence compiled over eight years led to Gould’s arrest. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 27.
Gould’s attorney, Evan Kelly, told ABC News that his client “just wants to clear his name in the court of law,” but declined to comment on the details of the case.
Maciejewska moved to the U.S. from Poland in 1997 and married Gould in 2006. At the time of her disappearance, their son was just four years old.
