Murder in Salzgitter
Family court decides on 13-year-old suspect – and hatred rages on the Internet
Mourners laid flowers and lit candles at the site where the body was found in Salzgitter-Fredenstedt (photo from Thursday). The murdered 15-year-old A. was also searched for on social media.
© Julian Stratenschulte / DPA
Bewilderment, sadness, but also hatred. Salzgitter-Fredenberg does not come to rest after the murder of a 15-year-old. The 13-year-old suspect is now to be admitted to a psychiatric ward, and his alleged accomplice is in custody.
After the murder of a 15-year-old student in Salzgitter, the family court is examining whether the 13-year-old suspect will be admitted to a closed child and adolescent psychiatric facility. A decision on the urgent application from the youth welfare office in the Lower Saxony city is expected shortly.
The suspected murderer of the girl is not guilty as a child under German law. Therefore, the youth welfare office and not the public prosecutor’s office or even a criminal court is responsible for the further steps (read more background information on dealing with children who have become criminals here).
Police speak of a “tense mood” in Salzgitter
The boy’s 14-year-old suspected accomplice was taken into custody. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the two insidious murder of base motives. The authorities suspect “enmity” with their classmate as a motive, as the Braunschweig public prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters announced on Thursday (read more here). The victim was suffocated. The public prosecutor’s office held back on the further state of knowledge. The two teenagers are said to have remained silent about the allegations so far.
While investigators continue to try to reconstruct what happened on the basis of traces and statements from witnesses, the Salzgitter-Fredenberg district does not rest even days after the crime.
“We are on site with an increased presence, trying to talk to the people and calm the situation down,” said police spokesman Matthias Pintak on Friday, according to the DPA news agency. Officials are also on duty at the schools to address fears and uncertainties.
Meanwhile, calls for vigilante justice are increasing, especially on the Internet, especially against the 13-year-old who is not guilty. Of the star was able to view numerous relevant postings. Among other things, a photo of a completely uninvolved person with false suspicions and calls for murder circulated. The police speak of a “tense mood”. “Not only photos are shared, things are also spread that are sometimes insulting, but sometimes hate crimes, violent crimes are called for,” Pintak told Norddeutscher Rundfunk. “It’s a powder keg that maybe can’t be caught up,” he warned against vigilantism and false suspicions – also criminal offenses.
Meanwhile, the grief for the murdered 15-year-old is still great in Salzgitter. More and more people are laying flowers on the edge of the overgrown green area where the dead girl was discovered on Tuesday. There are also red and white grave lights and a small angel. It is not yet clear when the student will be buried.
Also read the most important question and answer: Why do children become violent criminals?
Sources: Braunschweig public prosecutor, Northern German RadioDPA news agency