Shock twist after schoolgirls admit luring classmate, 12, into woods and stabbing her to death ‘because they fell out’
TWO German schoolgirls have confessed to luring a classmate into the woods and stabbing her to death “because they fell out.”
The victim – named only as Luise under the country’s strict privacy laws – was knifed over 30 times near the small town of Freudenberg, which lies 50miles east of Cologne.
The 12-year-old went missing on Saturday afternoon when she did not return home after visiting a friend.
Her body was then tragically discovered the following day after cops launched a huge search with drones, sniffer dogs and a helicopter to find the youngster.
Luise had been dumped near a cycling path in the wooded area close to her home in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Police later said the schoolgirl was wounded more than 30 times with a small knife and died from blood loss.
Two girls, aged 12 and 13, admitted to the murder in wake of the discovery.
Koblenz prosecutor Mario Mannweiler told a press conference: “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” in the grisly case that has rocked the country.
“This is of course a very unusual and shocking act, even for us,” he said.
The two girls “made statements about the matter and in the end admitted the crime,” Florian Locker, head of Koblenz police’s homicide department, said.
They were both known to Luise and reportedly attended the same school as her – with the 13-year-old said to be in the same class.
But in a shocking twist, the pair have been taken into the custody of a youth welfare office instead of being hauled into a cell.
The age of criminal responsibility in Germany is 14, putting the two girls who stand charged under the age limit.
Investigators have yet to locate the knife or knives used in the crime. Officers were seen scanning the wooded area with metal detectors.
Reports claim Luise was visiting the 13-year-old suspect at her home on Saturday before she went missing.
The younger girl then joined the two of them and the trio were spotted walking into the woods nearby by neighbours.
It is claimed that the 12-year-old was forced to assist in the killing by her older alleged accomplice.
Police said that under questioning, the two girls started to make contradictory statements before both confessed on Monday.
The parents of the youngsters have moved away for the moment but remain in contact with their daughters.
According to local media reports, Luise had been friends with her killers but had fallen out with them.
Stunned locals paid tribute to the schoolgirl, laying flowers and candles close to the wooded area where her body was found.
GERMANY ‘GRIEVING’
Hendrik Wuest, governor of North Rhine-Westphalia where Freudenberg is located, said he was appalled by the killing.
He said the state is “grieving” while insisting authorities will do all they can to uncover the circumstances surrounding the murder.
Wuest added: “It is incomprehensible and unbearable that children are capable of such horrible acts.”
Jürgen Süs, the deputy president of the Koblenz police directorate, said: “After more than 40 years in the job you still get cases that leave you speechless.”
The Esther-Bejarano comprehensive school, which Luise attended, also expressed its condolences amid the heartbreaking incident.
They said in a statement: “We lost our pupil, classmate and friend Luise at the weekend.
“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.”
The case is eerily similar to that of the Slender Man Killings in 2014, which saw a girl stabbed 19 times.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weir, 12, believed they were being ordered to kill Payton Leutner, 12, by a fictional character called Slender Man.
The supernatural being is fabled to stalk children and is often depicted leading them into woodland.
At their trial, in 2017, Morgan admitted stabbing her friend “everywhere” and, sobbing, told the court: “Anissa said that she couldn’t do it and then I had to.”
Despite their young age at the time of the crime, they were tried as adults and Geyser was sentenced to 40 years in a secure psychiatric institution while Weier was given 25 years.
Brave Payton is at college and plans to go into the medical profession, partly inspired by her trauma.