In the case of the 14-year-old, who was found dead in a forest near Bad Emstal in northern Hesse on Thursday, the police have arrested a suspect. He is a 20-year-old acquaintance of the victim, as the Kassel public prosecutor’s office and the North Hesse police headquarters announced.
“Due to further investigations and searches, the initial suspicions against him were confirmed,” the statement said. The man is now strongly suspected of being responsible for the death of the 14-year-old. The investigation was ongoing.
Police: Evidence of foul play
The teenager had been missing since Wednesday. According to police, a man discovered the student’s body while making wood on Thursday. The body was therefore located in a group of trees on the edge of a field outside the village in the area of a wood pile. The man immediately called the police officers, who were nearby looking for the 14-year-old. According to the police, the extensive investigations that have since been initiated have revealed evidence of foul play.
The suspect, a German from the Kassel district, was arrested on Thursday evening. The exact cause of death is still unclear. The autopsy of the body will take place on Friday, it was said. Further information will be announced subsequently.
14-year-old missing since Wednesday evening
The 14-year-old left her home at around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening and has been missing since then. Relatives therefore reported her missing on Thursday night. The officials also publicly searched for the student at times.
Bad Emstal is a small northern Hesse community with around 6,000 residents in four districts. It is located in the Habichtswald Nature Park, about 25 minutes by car southwest of Kassel.