The underage girls suspected in Germany of the death of a peer have confessed to stabbing 12-year-old Luise. A police spokesperson announced this on Tuesday in Koblenz, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Twelve-year-old Luise – her last name is unknown – from Freudenberg, a village about 80 kilometers east of Cologne, had visited a friend on Saturday. She had left there around 5:30 p.m., but the girl had never returned home. Her parents informed the police of the disturbing disappearance, and a large-scale search was launched. It focused on a piece of forest between the two houses, where the girl’s lifeless body was found on Sunday near a bicycle path.
© IMAGO/Rene Traut
The circumstances of the death were still unclear at the time, but a murder investigation was launched. An autopsy on Monday showed that Luise had died violently. On Tuesday, two suspects were arrested: two teenage girls aged 12 and 13. During an initial interrogation of the girls, contradictions came to light, after which the children were interrogated again on Monday. They then made confessions.
There is no indication that any other persons were involved in the atrocity. It is still unclear in what circumstances the murder took place, and what motive was at the basis of the facts.
Bleed to death
The police and the public prosecutor gave more information at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “This is a special case,” said the prosecutor. “Therefore, and for privacy reasons and for the protection of youth, we will only provide limited information.” He did say that the girl had several stab wounds and bled to death, perhaps at the place where her body was found. There are no indications of a sexual crime.
“The evidence that was found and the information from the interrogations leads us to believe that the two children of the girl’s acquaintances committed the crime,” he said earlier. “It’s a shocking thing.” Because the arrested girls are 12 and 13 years old, they cannot be charged with the murder. The criminally liable age in Germany is 14 years.
The murder weapon has not yet been found, but is still being sought.
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