The Peggy Case: A Chronology of Events

The Bayreuth public prosecutor has closed the investigation against Manuel S. The 43-year-old was the last remaining suspect in the Peggy murder case under investigation. The murderer of the girl from Lichtenberg could not be found even after 20 years of investigative work.

May 7, 2001: A girl disappears

On this day, Peggy from Lichtenberg in the district of Hof is seen for the last time on the way home from school.

May 8, 2001: Hundreds of people are looking for Peggy

Hundreds of police officers and volunteers rummage through the area around the small town of Lichtenberg in search of Peggy. Forests, caves and rivers are searched, all garbage cans in the community emptied. The police are hoping to find the girl’s belongings.

July 31, 2001: The first arrest

Peggy’s mother’s significant other was arrested on July 31st. The man is released the same day.

September 1, 2001: Ulvi K. is arrested

The 23-year-old Ulvi K. is arrested and placed in the closed psychiatric ward of the Bayreuth District Hospital. He confesses to the sexual abuse of several children, including Peggy.

February 28, 2003: Ulvi K. is charged

During an interrogation, Ulvi K. confesses to the murder of Peggy Knobloch. The public prosecutor’s office in Hof is bringing charges of murder.

April 30, 2004: conviction of Ulvi K.

Ulvi K. is sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. After a six-month circumstantial trial, the youth chamber holds the 26-year-old with intellectual disability guilty of strangling Peggy on May 7, 2001. His motive according to the court: He wanted to cover up a rape.

September 30, 2004: The citizens report

Gudrun Rödel founds the citizens’ initiative “Justice for Ulvi K.”. The retired legal secretary has gathered evidence and is fighting to get the trial reopened.

May 1, 2005: An empty grave for Peggy

Peggy’s mother, Susanne Knobloch, has a grave laid for her daughter in the cemetery in Nordhalben in the Kronach district.

September 1, 2010: V-Mann revokes testimony

Police undercover agent Peter H., fellow inmate of Ulvi K., explains that K. – contrary to what he previously claimed – did not confess to Peggy’s murder. H. wanted to gain advantages in psychiatry through the statement, he explained. He dies of cancer in the summer of 2013.

August 7, 2011: Michael Euler becomes public defender

The Bayreuth Regional Court appoints the Frankfurt attorney Michael Euler as public defender for Ulvi K.

July 18, 2012: Murder without a body

In the BR production “Mord ohne Leiche”, filmmaker Christian Stücken questions Ulvi K.’s perpetration. Stücken’s conclusion: K. cannot have committed the murder as the court describes it in its judgment. Stücken has reconstructed the course of events on the basis of new witness statements. Meanwhile, the Bayreuth public prosecutor is investigating again.

April 4, 2013: Resumption requested

The Peggy case may indeed be reopened. Twelve years after her disappearance, attorney Michael Euler submitted an application to the Bayreuth Regional Court to retrial.

April 22, 2013: Former suspect back on target

Investigators are searching the property of a former suspect in the Peggy case. They confiscate computers and files. However, there is no arrest warrant against him and he is currently not a suspect, the investigators emphasize. The police apparently have several leads that Peggy is buried on his property. An excavator rolls in that evening.

April 24, 2013: Bone fragments are discovered

The investigators find bone fragments in a septic tank behind the searched house in Lichtenberg. Investigations show, however, that these are not the bones of the missing Peggy. According to the prosecutor, the splinters could have come from a cemetery that used to be on the property.

September 3, 2013: Focus on a friend

Attorney General Herbert Potzel confirms that the investigation is focused on an acquaintance of Peggy’s family. The 29-year-old suspect lives in Halle and was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2013 for molesting his two-year-old daughter.

December 9, 2013: Court orders retrial

The Bayreuth Regional Court orders the resumption of criminal proceedings against Ulvi K. One of the reasons given by the court is the false testimony of the witness Peter H. in the first trial. When the new procedure will begin is still open.

January 8, 2014: Police open the grave of an 81-year-old woman

The police are investigating new leads on Peggy’s whereabouts. She opens the grave of a woman who died at the age of 81 in the Lichtenberg cemetery. Investigators had received evidence that Peggy’s body might be hidden in it. According to police, the woman was buried just two days after the girl disappeared. However, it soon became clear that there was no trace of Peggy here either.

January 23, 2014: A picture is supposed to show Peggy Knobloch

A picture is leaked to Ulvi K.’s lawyer, Michael Euler, which allegedly shows twelve-year-old Peggy Knobloch. The police’s assessment of the picture showed beyond any doubt that the missing girl cannot be seen, the investigators explain.

March 5, 2014: Suspect admits “tenderness”

According to the investigators, the 29-year-old Holger E. from Halle admits “tenderness” with Peggy. However, he denied sexual acts, according to the officials.

April 10, 2014: Retrial begins

Ten years after his conviction, Ulvi K. is back on trial on April 10, 2014. His case is being completely renegotiated. At the beginning of the trial, K’s defense attorney raised serious allegations against the investigators at the time.

May 14, 2014: Ulvi K. is acquitted

In the course of the retrial against Ulvi K. it became apparent: The 2004 judgment of the Hof Regional Court cannot be upheld. The prosecution sums it up in their plea: “We have no witness, no traces, no crime scene and no corpse.” The Bayreuth Regional Court consequently acquits Ulvi K. from the murder charge. For the first time in ten years, Peggy is no longer murdered, but missing again.

July 31, 2015: Ulvi K. is released from psychiatry

After 14 years, Ulvi K. is released from psychiatry. He is staying in a home for people with disabilities. Where exactly is kept secret in order to protect the privacy of the other residents.

July 2, 2016: Bones found in the forest near Lichtenberg

A mushroom picker finds a skeletonized corpse in a forest not far from Lichtenberg. The investigators immediately check whether it could be the remains of Peggy. The probability is very high.

July 5, 2016: Prosecutor confirms: It’s Peggy

It is a sad certainty: the remains that the mushroom picker found in a Thuringian forest are the corpse of the missing Peggy. This is confirmed by the Gera public prosecutor.

October 13, 2016: DNA trace leads to an NSU terrorist

Spectacular twist in the Peggy case: the police and the public prosecutor’s office announce that DNA traces of the NSU terrorist Uwe Böhnhardt have been found at the place where the girl’s remains were found. The genetic fingerprint was found on a piece of cloth near the body.

March 6, 2017: Investigators admit mishap

The investigators in the Peggy case are certain: There is no connection between the alleged NSU terrorist Uwe Böhnhardt and the death of Peggy. The investigators admit that Böhnhardt’s DNA got to Peggy’s location through a breakdown. The same tool was used for securing evidence that was used in a burned-out caravan after Böhnhardt’s death in 2011. Both cases have nothing to do with each other.

July 2, 2017: One year after the body was found

Thirty Soko Peggy employees are still working on the case. Investigations into Peggy’s remains are ongoing. Therefore, the body has not yet been released for burial. The police and the public prosecutor’s office do not want to comment on the details of the investigation for tactical reasons. Peggy’s school bag and rain jacket have not yet appeared. The student had both with her when she was last seen alive on May 7, 2001.

September 14, 2018: Investigation of previous suspects

A 41-year-old man, who was in focus after the girl’s disappearance in 2011, is now being investigated. The accused is questioned but released.

September 21, 2018: Suspect makes partial confession

41-year-old Manuel S. admits that he brought the dead Peggy into the forest in his car in May 2011. Previously, he had taken over her lifeless body from another man at a bus stop. Manuel S. denies having killed Peggy. He is at large. Pollen and paint residues at the place where Peggy’s remains were found gave the decisive clue.

December 11, 2018: arrest warrant for murder against Manuel S.

Manuel S. is arrested as an urgent suspect. The 41-year-old is apparently more deeply involved in the Peggy case than he has previously admitted. An arrest warrant for murder is issued against him.

December 13, 2018: Manuel S. withdraws partial confession

The defendant’s partial confession arose under the pressure of the investigators in an hour-long interrogation, criticized his lawyer. He announced a complaint against the arrest warrant of the Bayreuth District Court.

December 21, 2018: Manuel S.’s lawyer appeals to arrest

In the Peggy case, the defense attorney for the murder suspect Manuel S. has lodged a complaint against the arrest warrant at the Bayreuth District Court. There is no evidence of involvement in the killing.

December 25, 2018: Bayreuth District Court revokes arrest warrant

On Christmas Eve, the Bayreuth District Court releases the suspect in the Peggy case from custody. After Manuel S. had revoked his partial confession, this could no longer be used against him. According to the district court, there is no longer any urgent suspicion. The man should also have had a lawyer by his side during the interrogations.

February 14, 2019: Manuel S. remains at large

The Bayreuth district court decides that Manuel S. remains at large. According to the current status of the investigation, there is no urgent suspicion of murder against Manuel S., the court said. But his confession can be used.

February 18, 2019: charges against “Soko Peggy”

The Soko is said to have betrayed official secrets by passing on audio recordings of an old conversation between Ulvi K. and his father to journalists. The public prosecutor’s office rejects the allegations.

March 7, 2019: The investigators are under investigation

The Würzburg public prosecutor is investigating members of the “Soko Peggy” and a Bayreuth public prosecutor. The Soko is said to have released sound recordings. In the recorded conversation, Ulvi K. is said to have said that he and Manuel S. were there when Peggy died.

October 22, 2020: Public prosecutor’s office closes investigations

Manuel S.’s lawyer confirmed to Bayerischer Rundfunk on request that the investigation against his client had been closed. The police and the public prosecutor’s office confirm this a little later. According to the files, the evidence collected is not sufficient for an indictment of murder against Manuel S. The Peggy case is now closed after almost 20 years. Who killed the girl could not be determined.

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