crime
Death of 15-year-old – young suspects are silent
A forensic employee at the crime scene in Salzgitter. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The violent death of a young person in Salzgitter continues to raise many questions. Two younger classmates are said to have murdered the 15-year-old from Salzgitter.
In the case of the 15-year-old who was killed in Salzgitter, the young suspects are silent. “The two alleged perpetrators have not provided any information,” said Hans Christian Wolters from the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office.
A 14-year-old boy is now in custody at the Hamelin Juvenile Institution on suspicion of murder. A 13-year-old cannot be prosecuted as another murder suspect because he is under criminal jurisdiction. According to Wolters, both boys had not appeared criminally before the violent crime.
“The youth welfare office immediately took action yesterday in connection with the 13-year-old student suspected of murder, who was under criminal responsibility,” Salzgitter’s mayor, Frank Klingebiel (CDU), told dpa on Thursday. An urgent application was made to the Salzgitter family court for the 13-year-old to be placed in a child and adolescent psychiatric facility. “A psychiatric assessment of the boy is currently being carried out,” added Dirk Härdrich, head of the youth department. A decision from the family court is expected soon.
Investigations are ongoing
The investigation into the crime in the Lower Saxony city continued on Thursday and, according to Wolters, will take some time. Officials discovered the 15-year-old’s body on Tuesday in a park in Salzgitter-Fredenberg. Relatives had reported the girl missing to the police on Sunday evening.
The autopsy results showed that the girl had suffocated, Wolters said. He cited lack of oxygen as the cause of death. How exactly the suffocation came about and what happened in Fredenberg on Sunday evening has yet to be clarified. It is known that the suspect and the victim come from the same neighborhood, went to the same school and also had contact with each other. According to Wolters, the 14-year-old is German, while the 13-year-old has German and Russian citizenship.
However, the investigators are still keeping a low profile on the exact course of events. When asked how the two suspects came into focus so quickly, the prosecutor initially did not comment. According to a report by “Bild”, a third youth is said to have witnessed the crime. The spokesman did not want to comment on this report on Thursday evening either.
Prosecutors assume insidiousness
More details about the relationship between victims and alleged perpetrators have yet to be determined, said Wolters. The public prosecutor’s office assumes murder and sees base motives. According to initial findings, the crime was insidious because the victim’s suspicion and defenselessness was exploited. “It didn’t happen spontaneously,” Wolters said.
With a view to the younger suspect, everything else is a matter for the youth welfare office, said the spokesman for the public prosecutor. However, his role will be further investigated, but only indirectly in the course of the investigation of the 14-year-old suspect.
In the affected school, the tragic case has led to deep dismay and extreme stress, as the state school authorities announced on request. “The situation is difficult for everyone at school and hard to believe,” said spokeswoman Bianca Trogisch. A regional crisis and emergency team is currently providing the school with intensive support in dealing with the events. Emergency psychologists were already on site on Wednesday. On Thursday, specialist teaching was largely resumed.
On Friday, the investigation should be continued with trace analysis and witness interviews. This will certainly take a few more days, said the spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office.