‘Knifed to death for telling on her bullies’: New twist in murder that has shocked Germany as it’s claimed girl, 12, was stabbed 30 times by female classmates after telling an adult they’d been picking on her
- Victim, known only as Luise, missing on Saturday and found dead on Sunday
- Her body was found in woods of town Freudenberg after massive police search
- Former friends reportedly bullied girl for months before stabbing her ‘in revenge’
A new twist has emerged in the murder of a 12-year-old German girl, with claims that she was killed by two classmates because she told a teacher they had been bullying her.
The victim, only known as Luise under Germany’s strict privacy laws, had reportedly been bullied by her two former friends for months.
When she told an adult about the bullying, the girls aged 13 and 12 stabbed her 30 times ‘in revenge’ in the woods in her hometown of Freudenberg, according to German newspaper Bild.
Last Saturday, Luise reportedly met the 13-year-old friend at her house in the town’s Hohenhain district, two miles from her own home.
While they knew each other for years, took the school bus together and were even in the same class in school, it is not clear why Luise and her killer met up in light of the bullying accusations.
The victim (pictured), only known as Luise under Germany’s strict privacy laws, had reportedly been bullied by her two attackers for months. When she told an adult about the bullying, the girls aged 13 and 12 stabbed her 30 times in revenge
Local residents in Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, laid down flowers and placed candles near the wooded area where the body was located
Last Saturday, March 11, Luise reportedly met the 13-year-old friend at her house in the town’s Hohenhain district, 1.8 miles away from her own home
Later that day, the 12-year-old accomplice joined in and the trio walked to a nearby forest. There, they stabbed Luise more than 30 times with a knife in a case that shocked Germany.
Luise’s body was found in the woods the following day, March 12, during a massive police search of the area after her parents reported the girl missing on Saturday afternoon.
The two girls, who were spotted by a neighbour as they were walking into the woods with Luise, ‘made statements about the matter and in the end admitted the crime,’ said Florian Locker, head of Koblenz police’s homicide department.
The 13-year-old had reportedly forced the younger suspect to assist her.
Mr Locker declined to give further details because the suspects are too young to be held criminally responsible for their actions in Germany as the age of criminal responsibility only starts at 14.
Investigators have yet to locate the ‘small knife’ used in the crime.
After the stabbing, the girls returned to the 13-year-old’s house, where the younger girl was later picked up by her father.
Afterwards, the older girl called Luise’s parents and told them a tale of lies, saying Luise started making her way back home at 5.30pm and wanted to let her know once she had arrived.
Pictured: Police forces stand at a cordon near Freudenberg, Germany, on March 12, 2023
Pictured: German police officers search for a knife in a woodland where a 12-year-old girl was found dead as a result of knife wounds in Hohenhain, near Freudenberg, Germany, on March 14, 2023
A book of condolences for Luise and a card reading ‘We mourn Luise’ are on display in the Protestant church in Freudenberg
As Luise had failed to call, the 13-year-old allegedly called her several times as she was ‘worried’ about her, while she knew where Luise really was: stabbed and left to die in the woods.
Police said that during the search and later under questioning, the two girls made contradictory statements and both finally confessed on Monday, March 13.
The two girls attended the same school as Luise and they were said to be friends.
The parents of the suspects have moved away for the moment but are still in contact with their daughters.
Luise’s disappearance triggered a frantic search operation that featured a helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones. When she was found stabbed 30 times, the community in the small town with just 18,000 residents was shocked.
Koblenz prosecutor Mario Mannweiler said at a press conference after Luise was found: ‘The child died as a result of numerous knife wounds and the resulting loss of blood.’
He added that there was ‘no indication of a sexual offence’.
Local residents laid down flowers and placed candles near the wooded area where the body was found.
Pictured: A German police officer uses a metal detector in search of a knife at the woodland where a 12-year-old girl was found dead as a result of knife wounds in Hohenhain, near Freudenberg, on March 14
Hendrik Wuest, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, said that the state is ‘grieving’. He added: ‘It is incomprehensible and unbearable that children are capable of such horrible acts.’
He promised that the authorities would do all that is possible to uncover the motive and circumstances behind the crime.
‘After more than 40 years in the job you still get cases that leave you speechless,’ said Jürgen Süs, the deputy president of the Koblenz police directorate.
Luise’s school replaced its homepage with a message of condolence.
‘We lost our pupil, classmate and friend Luise at the weekend,’ the Esther-Bejarano comprehensive school in Freudenberg said in the statement.
‘Far too early, she was violently torn from our midst and from her family. Our thoughts and wishes are with her family and friends now and in the coming days.’
A book of condolences for Luise and a card reading ‘We mourn Luise’ are on display in the Protestant church in Freudenberg.
The case revived memories of the notorious 1993 murder of two-year-old James Bulger in England. The toddler was abducted and tortured before he was killed by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
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