12-year-old Luise was found dead on Sunday. Two girls are said to have committed the crime, but will probably go unpunished. What happens to them now?
Update from March 16, 12:48 p.m.: In Freudenberg (17,000 inhabitants), nothing is as it used to be. The act of violence against Luise (12) is stunned and put Freudenberg's parents in great concern (see below). On March 11, 2023, Luise was allegedly stabbed to death by two classmates in a forest. The two girls (12 and 13) have confessed to the crime, they do not face criminal consequences due to their age.
The parents of the alleged suspects have now left Freudenberg, reports WDR. Her current whereabouts would remain secret.
Update from March 15, 20:04 p.m.: In the case of the killed twelve-year-old Luise, the State Youth Welfare Office of North Rhine-Westphalia has no procedure for dealing with the alleged perpetrators. "There has never been such a case before and accordingly we do not have a standard procedure for it," said a spokesman for the authorities on Wednesday in Cologne. The responsible local youth welfare office must find a solution in municipal autonomy - with or against the parents of the confessed girls. "The case is so special that there is no procedure for it," said the spokesman.
The State Youth Welfare Office is part of the Rhineland and Westphalia Regional Associations. However, it is not a supervisory authority and only has an advisory function, it said.
After the killing of Luise (12): perpetrators "housed outside the home environment"
Update from March 15, 10:07 a.m.: The case of Luise, who was killed, has been shaking the whole of Germany for two days. Because the two alleged perpetrators (12, 13) are incapable of guilt according to Section 19 of the Criminal Code and cannot be prosecuted for criminal offenses, many parents in Freudenberg are very worried about their own children. They are not the only ones who are now asking themselves the question: What happens to the two confessed girls, whose motive is still unknown?
As the responsible district of Siegen-Wittgensteinen announced, both no longer live with their parents for the time being. The two 12- and 13-year-olds were "accommodated outside the home environment," it says. "This is also due to the fact that the children do not attend their previous schools."
Sad certainty: The missing 12-year-old from Freudenberg is dead. © Andreas Trojak/dpa/ Police
However, the girls are still in contact with their parents. "Due to the young age of the girls, contact with the family is very important for the development of successful support and is supported in this respect," promises the district of Siegen-Wittgensteinen on its homepage. For the two suspects, too, it was a "very extraordinary situation that requires a lot of empathy and prudent action," said district youth department head Thomas Wüst.
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According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa) on 14 March, it is conceivable that the perpetrators will receive psychiatric treatment, possibly also in a closed facility. However, it is also possible for the parents to receive help with their upbringing – or for the children to be placed in a home or with a foster family for a while. However, the legal hurdles for separating from the parents against their will are high.
District Administrator Andreas Müller expressed his condolences to the parents of the slainLuise: "The cruel act shocked us all. The whole of Siegen-Wittgenstein mourns with you. There are no words that can describe how great the loss they have suffered."
Luise killed: Alleged perpetrators incapable of guilt according to Section 19 of the Criminal Code
Update from March 14, 15:50 p.m.: In an official press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the police announced the current state of the investigation. Accordingly, the suspicion was confirmed that two girls aged twelve and 13 killed Luise. According to the information, these come from the circle of acquaintances. Since the two alleged perpetrators are still under 14 years of age, there is a criminal responsibility. This means that according to Section 19 of the Criminal Code, they are incapable of guilt and are not prosecuted for criminal offences.
But that doesn't mean that "nothing will be done now," police spokesman Mario Mannweiler said at the press conference. "We are now putting this case in the hands of the youth authorities." No further details were initially provided. According to lawyer Julia Biastoch, for example, accommodation with a foster family, a home or even in a psychiatric facility is an option. The latter, however, only if a serious mental disorder has been diagnosed.
Missing Luise is dead: What the police initially announced to the investigation
First report from 14 March, 11.22 a.m.: Munich – A crime in Freudenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia is causing great consternation. After there was no trace of a twelve-year-old since Saturday (12 March), there has been sad certainty since Sunday. The missing Luise is dead. As the police announced on Monday, the girl had become the victim of a crime.
"The investigations carried out so far confirm the suspicion that the girl has become the victim of a homicide," said the spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Koblenz on Monday. Based on the evidence, a violent act can be assumed. There are currently no indications of a sexual offense. "The investigation is in full swing," the spokesman said. The police and the public prosecutor's office did not initially provide further details - "for investigative tactical reasons". "For us, the investigation of the crime is currently in the foreground, as we are at an early and often decisive stage," said the spokesman.
As was confirmed on Tuesday, two girls are under suspicion. According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), they are twelve and 13 years old. Concrete details were not initially published.
Minors commit a crime: what applies to them?
But if the worst comes to the worst, what threatens young people who commit crimes? Initially, different rules apply to young people under the age of 18 than to adults who commit a crime. In general, according to the Criminal Code, a distinction is made between two different age groups. According to case law, children under the age of 14 are treated differently than children between the ages of 14 and 18.
- According to §14 of the Criminal Code, children under the age of 19 are incapable of guilt if they are not yet fourteen years old when the offence is committed. However, this is not a free pass, as lawyer Julia Biastoch, a lawyer at the Chair of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of Göttingen, told NDR. So a crime also has consequences at this age. However, the youth welfare offices are then responsible. In addition to accommodation with a foster family or in a home, "accommodation in a child and adolescent psychiatry is also possible," said the expert. The latter presupposes "a serious mental disorder".
- For children over 14 years of age, a different jurisdiction applies. They are treated in accordance with juvenile criminal law. This "is about the idea of education," said juvenile judge Maria Kleimann in the podcast episode "Juvenile Criminal Law" of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
- "It's not so much about repaying injustice as it is about ensuring that no further injustice happens. So specifically, we are trying to do something with the young people that will prevent them from committing further crimes. Or, to put it positively: We help them get on the right track." The range of response options includes "working hours, conditions, apologies, social training courses, educational discussions, perpetrator-victim compensation, monetary payment, sometimes even short-term imprisonment or, if nothing helps, of course, juvenile punishment, i.e. prison," said Kleimann.
- According to NDR, it is possible that alleged perpetrators will be remanded in custody. As with adults, this is intended to prevent an attempt to escape or the covering of tracks.
Minors under suspicion of murder: what punishment threatens?
Prison sentences are rare. However, murder and manslaughter could result in a prison sentence of up to ten years, the NDR quotes lawyer Biastoch. In answering the question of culpability, one factor plays a role, as Biastoch explained: Can a young person "see the injustice of the act and take responsibility for it?" In normal criminal law for adults, this ability is considered a prerequisite. (mbr)
