A ten-year-old girl is found dead in a children's home. Now a 26-year-old is on trial for rape. But a crucial question is not part of the indictment.
Hof/Wunsiedel – The death of a ten-year-old girl in a children's home in Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia, caused great consternation last year. Workers found the girl dead in a bed at the home on the morning of April 4, 2023. According to police investigations, the girl was raped.
The Hof regional court has been dealing with the case since Thursday. A 26-year-old garbage worker is facing charges of rape in the court's youth division – but not for killing the girl. The police investigation came to the conclusion in September 2023 that an eleven-year-old at the time had killed the girl. He cannot be prosecuted criminally – but is now expected to testify as a witness.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the defendant made a comprehensive confession, which his defense attorney Maximilian Siller read out for him. Due to the great media interest even before the trial began, Siller explained that his client was unable to make his statements himself. During his lawyer's remarks, the defendant stared at the floor and only looked up when he was spoken to.
The defendant once lived in the children's home himself
In the statement read out, the defendant stated that he had financial problems at the time and therefore committed several burglaries in the region. On the night of April 4th, he went to the children's home and got in through an open window. The 26-year-old said that since he had previously stayed there for a long time, he knew his way around the building. According to the prosecution, he was housed there once again as a child and later as a teenager.
The defendant further stated that after a while he met the eleven-year-old in the house and that the boy began a conversation with sexual content with him. The boy said that he had already seen porn films and that he should show him how to masturbate. He did this out of fear of being discovered by others.
26-year-old admits rape
Later, the boy brought the ten-year-old girl over and pushed her onto a bed in a room. According to his statements, the man then raped the girl and then fled the home. The German stated that he never wanted the girl's death – nor did he ask the boy to kill her. He deeply regrets his actions. Media reports speculated whether the defendant might have threatened the boy and asked him to kill the girl.
The public prosecutor and police are convinced that the now twelve-year-old strangled the girl during an argument later that night. The boy gave contradictory information to the police, said his lawyer, Michael Hasslacher, on the sidelines of the trial. Like the girl's parents, the boy is a co-plaintiff in the proceedings. He is considered the injured party because the defendant is said to have masturbated in front of him. After the incident, the boy was taken into custody by authorities.
The public prosecutor did not consider the boy's statements to be credible, said Hasslacher. The homicide is therefore not part of the charge. Like the other two co-plaintiffs, he hopes that the trial will provide clarification regarding the girl's death. “I think we’re pulling together.”
The girl's death is not part of the indictment
Even if the girl's death is not part of the charge, the 26-year-old could still be convicted for possible involvement in the child's death. A so-called legal notice would be necessary for this later. The boy's statement is therefore eagerly awaited. He is expected to testify in camera during the further course of the trial.
In connection with the girl's death, the public prosecutor's office is also investigating “involved people and authorities,” a spokesman said. So far, no initial suspicion of a crime has been identified against them. The investigation is expected to be concluded at the end of March.
Teacher found girl dead in bed
A 29-year-old teacher at the home said in court that the eleven-year-old knocked on her door in the morning and said: “Someone is lying in my room.” There she saw the girl lying on her stomach with her abdomen uncovered and at first she thought it was would have wet himself. Since she didn't want to make a fuss about it, she initially left the girl there, said the teacher.
She initially had breakfast with other children and also played with the eleven-year-old. She didn't notice anything unusual about him. He also didn't say anything about the incident. It was only when the teacher went into the girl's room again to wake her up that she noticed that the ten-year-old was dead.
In addition to rape, the 26-year-old is also charged with five burglaries between May 2022 and April 2023. He is said to have stolen, among other things, construction m
achinery and tools worth around 16,000 euros. In one case he is also said to have set a fire to cover his tracks. The defendant admitted the burglaries in court and denied the arson.
Investigators discovered him based on DNA traces at the crime scenes and stolen goods that they found at his home. The defendant had already largely admitted the crimes during the investigation. Eight more days of negotiations are planned for the trial until the beginning of March. dpa
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