crime
Open questions after arrest: Why was Valeriia killed?
Valeriia disappeared without a trace on the morning of June 3rd on her way to school. Her body was found last Tuesday. The police suspect that it was a violent crime. Photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Three days after Valeriia’s body was found, Czech police arrested a suspect. Investigators now hope that he will be quickly extradited to Germany.
Why was the girl suddenly taken from her life? And how did she die? The leading public prosecutor’s office in Chemnitz hopes that the suspect arrested in Prague, a 36-year-old Moldovan, will be quickly extradited to Germany. A corresponding request has been sent to the authorities in the Czech Republic, it said. He is currently in custody there.
According to the information, a national and European arrest warrant had been issued against the man. Yesterday morning he was arrested in a restaurant in Prague. He is strongly suspected of having “violently killed” the nine-year-old girl, according to a statement from the Chemnitz police department. The police and public prosecutor’s office have not yet provided any further information.
Suspected perpetrator from social environment
The anxious search for the girl who disappeared on June 3 and the sad news of the discovery of her body last Tuesday in the undergrowth of a forest has deeply moved many people. Valeriia had not lived in Germany for long, having fled the war in Ukraine with her mother in 2022. According to investigators, the girl was found clothed and there is no evidence that she was sexually abused.
In recent days, the search for a perpetrator has focused primarily on the girl’s social environment. According to information from “Bild”, the man arrested is the ex-boyfriend of Valeriia’s mother. He is said to have contacted the woman before the girl disappeared. He is also said to have been filmed by the surveillance camera of a neighboring house.
Last night, around 2,500 people remembered the murdered girl in an emotional memorial service in Döbeln. Balloons were released into the sky accompanied by music, and many people laid flowers and candles. An ecumenical memorial service is planned for Sunday morning on the Obermarkt. The city has also set up a donation account to support Valeriia’s family. By Friday, around 8,700 euros had been received.