No trial for two schoolgirls who confessed to the murder of their 12-year-old friend

On Monday, German authorities announced that the two schoolgirls who confessed to the murder of one of their 12-year-old classmate last March in Freudenberg would not be prosecuted.

Aged 12 and 13, they are not held criminally responsible.

On March 11, when she was supposed to return home after visiting a friend, little Luise no longer gave any sign of life. Police opened an investigation after being informed of the disappearance.

Luise’s body was found the next day , in a wooded area not far from her home, stabbed with a knife.

Supported by youth protection

Two classmates of Luise end up confessing to investigators, without us knowing for what motive they acted. The violence of the events and the youth of the suspects have left their mark in Germany, triggering a debate on the age from which one can be found criminally responsible, currently set at 14 years across the Rhine.

It is on this question that the Siegen public prosecutor’s office ruled on Monday by deciding to close the case without prosecuting the two young girls. In collaboration with the judicial police, the prosecution had investigated in recent months to determine whether a criminally responsible suspect could possibly be involved in this murder, but research in this direction yielded nothing.

Since the events, the two girls have been placed in the custody of youth protection authorities. According to local authorities, they are in a “therapeutic care” center, where they are also educated.