justice
Farewell to Luise: Funeral service for dead twelve-year-olds
Candles and flowers commemorate the murdered Luise near the site in Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia. photo
©Oliver Berg/dpa
No big public, no cameras: in a small funeral service, relatives and close friends of the dead Luise say goodbye. Your school opens the auditorium for a joint commemoration.
Relatives, friends and classmates of the dead twelve-year-old Luise from Freudenberg in Siegerland say goodbye to the girl at a funeral service. In the small evangelical church, her closest companions are coming together tonight for a service. Classmates have the opportunity to meet at the same time in the auditorium of their school. An audio transmission of the service will be heard there.
The violent death of the 12-year-old on March 11 shocked many people in the small town. Two 12 and 13-year-old girls had confessed to having killed Luise with numerous knife wounds. According to the investigating authorities, the three knew each other.
Police protect privacy
At the request of Luise’s family, the funeral service should be kept short, said a police spokeswoman. Parish pastor Thomas Ijewski will preach the sermon, the church district of Siegen-Wittgenstein announced. Prominent guests from politics are not expected. The police want to use a large effort to ensure that the funeral service is not disturbed.
On the grounds of the school center, citizens can also take part in the audio transmission of the funeral service. Loudspeakers should be set up in the schoolyard for this purpose.
At the scene of the crime, which is in Rhineland-Palatinate right on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia, flowers, candles and painted stones are reminiscent of Luise. At the weekend, many people passed by the remote spot in the forest a few kilometers from Freudenberg, stopped and put things down as a sign of their sympathy. “Mourning and bewilderment lie on our city like a heavy burden,” said the mayor of Freudenberg, Nicole Reschke.
Age of the perpetrators shocked
Students and teachers at Luise’s school took almost a week to talk about the events and mourn together. The offers of the Freudenberg churches were also accepted by many people. A book of condolences has been available in the evangelical church since the crime, emergency pastors are available for talks.
The public will probably never learn anything about the motives of the two 12- and 13-year-olds who confessed to the crime. The investigators are extremely cautious about providing information about the background to the case, because the alleged perpetrators are still children themselves and are therefore not responsible.
At the same time, the police and prosecutors are fighting speculation and false reports on social media. The authorities repeatedly appealed not to be involved in spreading rumors and alleged photos of the victim and the alleged perpetrators. The social media channels of the two suspects were closed by order of the public prosecutor. According to the police, it is constantly being checked whether anything criminally relevant is being posted.