crime
Dead ten-year-olds in Wunsiedel – horror and many questions
The road to the children and youth welfare center is closed. A 10-year-old girl was found dead in a room at the facility. photo
© Daniel Vogl/dpa
A girl is found lifeless in a child welfare facility in Upper Franconia. Early signs point to a homicide. Three boys come into the focus of the investigators.
A ten-year-old girl was found dead in a child and youth welfare facility in Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia. An autopsy of the child’s body showed signs of third-party negligence, according to the police.
The focus of the investigators are two underage boys and a teenager. But it was initially unclear to what extent this involvement could have been the cause of the girl’s death and whether it could have been an accident.
A police car is parked on the premises of the facility on Wednesday afternoon, and the building is cordoned off over a large area. The day before, staff had found the girl who was cared for at the facility, lifeless in a room. An emergency medical team could only determine the death of the ten-year-old, as the police and prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
Autopsy brings clarity
According to initial findings, an autopsy on the girl’s body showed signs of third-party negligence, they said. The investigations focus on two boys aged 11 and a 16-year-old, as the German Press Agency learned from security circles.
So there is evidence that the three boys were involved in the death of the girl. But a lot is initially unclear. Also, could it have been an accident? According to information from security circles, the three boys were not taken into police custody, but were housed in a youth protection facility.
Interior Minister Herrmann calls for quick clarification
Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann (CSU), said: “This terrible act has shocked me deeply and leaves me stunned.” His thoughts are also with the bereaved, for whom a world has collapsed. It is important that it is now clarified as quickly as possible who was involved in the act and what the background was.
The investigators concentrated solely on the facility, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Hof. That means on the employees and the children and young people accommodated there. On Wednesday, the police continued to secure evidence and questioned numerous witnesses.
According to their own statements, the child and youth welfare center in Wunsiedel usually accommodates around 90 children, adolescents and young adults. The specialist facility is there for young people and their families who need help with education, according to the website of the house.
According to a spokesman, the authorities only announced the case on Wednesday in order to be able to secure extensive evidence and interview witnesses on Tuesday. The town of Wunsiedel in the Fichtelgebirge has around 9,200 inhabitants. It is about 90 kilometers north-east of Nuremberg and only a few kilometers from the border with the Czech Republic.