In a youth care institution in the south of Germany, a 10-year-old girl died under suspicious circumstances. There are indications of involvement of third parties, the police and judiciary announced on Wednesday.
Employees of the institution in the town of Wunsiedel, about 90 kilometers northeast of Nuremberg (Bavaria) and not far from the Czech border, found the victim lifeless in a room around 8:45 am on Tuesday. They alerted the emergency services, but an emergency medical team was only able to determine the girl’s death. An initial autopsy yielded indications of an unnatural death ‘due to external influences’, whereby a homicidal offense has not been ruled out. The police so far assume that the girl was killed – knowingly or unintentionally.
According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM) in the city of Hof, about 45 kilometers to the north, all options are being kept open in the investigation. “There are no suspects yet and no one has been arrested,” spokesman Matthias Goers said to the regional broadcaster on Wednesday afternoon. Bavarian radio.
Three teenage boys
In doing so, he contradicted reports from the boulevard magazine Bild. That had reported earlier in the day, citing sources around the investigation, that three suspects were in pre-trial detention: two 11-year-old boys and one 16-year-old.
The German news agency DPA later reported that the detectives are focusing on the three teenagers in their investigation into the girl’s death. They have been transferred to a youth protection institution, it said, citing sources in ‘security circles’
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the place where the victim was found is also the crime scene. The investigation was still in full swing on Wednesday. Forensic investigators were also at work elsewhere in the building and outside. In the meantime, detectives continued to question residents and employees of the St. Josef child and youth care center. They receive psychological assistance from a crisis team.
The youth care center offers shelter to 89 children, young people and young adults between the ages of three and eighteen from all over Germany. Due to circumstances they cannot live at home and receive help with their upbringing. “A larger group” is currently missing due to the Easter holiday, a spokeswoman said. According to her, part of that group is on winter sports. On Monday, activities took place for those who stayed behind, ranging from making ‘Easter nests’ from dough to a youth disco, the regional broadcaster reported.
Shocking
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) said on Wednesday that he was “deeply shocked and dismayed by this appalling act”. Deputy Mayor Manfred Söllner of Wunsiedel (SPD) said he was also deeply moved and spoke of a “shocking experience” for many residents of the city. “We can’t believe it.”
The death of the girl in the youth care institution in Bavaria causes a stir throughout Germany. This is mainly because it is the second suspected teenage death in a month in the Federal Republic. On March 11, a 12-year-old girl was found dead in a forest in Freudenberg in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Her best friend (13) and another schoolmate (12) confessed to stabbing Luise and leaving her bleeding. They would have acted out of revenge after an argument.’
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