03/22/2023 19:28 (act. 03/22/2023 20:08)
Goodbye to Luisa. ©AFP
With many tears and a moving funeral, relatives and friends of the late Luise de Freudenberg said goodbye to the 12-year-old girl.
“We all have an unspeakably heavy heart right now,” parish priest Thomas Ijewski said Wednesday night at the town’s small evangelical church. “She had a wonderful life for twelve years. Your Liese was often full of irrepressible joy, you’ll remember her boisterous and fun.”
1000 people mourned Luise
Only the family and close associates had gathered in the small evangelical church, outside the police had extensively cordoned off the area. Classmates gathered at the same time in their school auditorium and in the schoolyard. An audio stream from the service can be heard there. About 1000 people came in total.
Died with numerous knife wounds
The 12-year-old boy’s violent death on March 11 shocked many people in the town of Freudenberg, near Siegen. Two girls aged 12 and 13 confessed to having stabbed Luise to death. According to the investigating authorities, the three knew each other. The alleged perpetrators were not named in the service.
Ijewski recalled the act a week and a half ago, when Luise was initially reported missing and emergency services were looking for her in a large contingent. “A pitch-black night, lit only by the twinkling blue lights and the cones of light from the search teams. Hours of hope, hours of total commitment by so many, hours when countless prayers were sent up to heaven. But in the end it was all in vain.” Police found the 12-year-old boy’s body the next morning in a remote wooded area in Rhineland-Palatinate, on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia.
“With what pleasure we would have accompanied them in the future”
That changed everything for Luise’s family and friends. “We would have loved to follow them into the future, we would have been excited about their class trips, their first boyfriend, their career choice and maybe starting a family. It was all over before it even started.”
A white coffin, numerous soft pink flowers
The evangelical church in Freudenberg was decorated with delicate pink flowers. The white coffin was at the front. “We baptized Luise in this church. They recommended it to God. We also said goodbye to her here,” said Ijewski.
Music by Sarah Connor
At the request of the family, it was a very simple service. Only the pastor of the Ijewski church spoke to the church. Instead of organ music, modern songs blared from the speakers: “Paper Aircraft” by Sarah Connor and “Dancing in the Sky” by Flemish “The Voice Kids” contestant Zita.
It was difficult for him to speak words of comfort to Luise’s family and friends, the parish priest said. He asked almost hesitantly, “May I place this hope in your heart that Jesus alive and risen long ago took Luise in his arms?”
The public will likely never know anything about the motives of the two 12- and 13-year-olds who confessed to the crime. Investigators are extremely cautious in providing information about the background of the case, because the alleged perpetrators are still children and therefore not responsible. The two girls are in the care of the youth welfare office.
Countless flowers and candles remind Luise
The forest site where Luise was killed, just a few kilometers from Freudenberg, is becoming an increasingly popular attraction for mourners. Countless flowers are there, lighted candles, angels, hearts and painted stones remind the 12-year-old girl.
In Luise’s schoolyard, people were silent for a long time after the service. Then the balloons rose into the sky – the name of Luise and big hearts were painted on them.