The body of 12-year-old Luise was found by police in a forest near Freudenberg in western Germany on Sunday.
Germany was shocked on Tuesday March 14 when two teenage girls, aged 12 and 13, confessed to stabbing to death a 12-year-old classmate in a small rural town. The case, uncovered by police and prosecutors at a press conference, is unprecedented in Germany’s recent history and remains exceptional on a European scale.
Luise had been missing since leaving the house of a friend who was visiting her late Saturday afternoon not far from Freudenberg in the west of the country, her town of 17,000. About three hours after his disappearance, his concerned parents called the police. Her daughter’s lifeless body was found by police in a forest a few kilometers from her home on Sunday. “She died after losing a lot of blood through numerous stab wounds,” said Koblenz prosecutor Mario Mannweiler. He said there was “no evidence of sexual assault”.
Teenage girls “are not criminally responsible,” prosecutors say
The two suspects had “given information about the case and finally confessed to the facts,” said Florian Locker, police chief Koblenz, adding that their statements correspond to the facts. The murder weapon has not yet been found.
The two pre-teens and Luise knew each other, Mario Mannweiler added, but declined to provide further details, particularly whether they were in the same class or school. No element has been filtered out either about the identity of the suspects or the alleged motive for their crime. “It is a complex topic and the reasons for your gesture must be analyzed in an age-appropriate manner,” stressed Mario Mannweiler.
The two alleged girls were not known to the police. Under the age of 14, they are “not criminally responsible,” stated Mario Mannweiler. They were handed over to social services and youth protection.
investigators in shock
During the press conference, the investigators were apparently in shock. “After 40 years of service with the police, there are still events that leave us speechless,” said Koblenz Police Vice President Jürgen Süss. “The act itself is very extraordinary and worries us,” added the prosecutor.
Even the head of government of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (West), Hendrick Wüst, did not hide his emotion. “It is difficult to imagine and bearable that children are capable of such acts,” he said during a press conference. According to this Conservative leader, “criminal and violent crimes committed by young people or children under the age of 14 have been increasing for several years”. He therefore called for more prevention work in this age group.
A message of condolence appeared on the website of Luise’s university in Freudenberg, a town around 80 kilometers from Bonn and Cologne, on Tuesday.