Unknown persons have placed flowers and candles on a tree in the Bürgerpark Pankow. © Paul Zinken/dpa
More than three months after the violent death of a five-year-old girl in Berlin-Pankow, the public prosecutor's office has brought charges. This was announced by a spokesman for the authorities on Wednesday. Investigators continue to believe that a 19-year-old stabbed the child. He himself has not yet commented on the allegations, it said. The motive for the crime is still unclear.
Berlin - The prosecution accuses the 19-year-old of manslaughter.
The young man was arrested on February 21 on the edge of the Bürgerpark - a short time after the missing girl was found lifeless in a bush. The 19-year-old, who has German and Turkish citizenship, has been in custody since then. It is a friend of the victim's family.
On the day of the crime, according to witnesses, he was supposed to take care of the girl and her three younger siblings on a playground near the park. From there, he then went away with the five-year-old, allegedly because the child had to go to the toilet. A little later, the 19-year-old came back alone.
According to the indictment, he initially lost sight of the girl and searched for her. After he had found the child again, he allegedly killed it by stabbing it several times, according to the accusation. The girl died in the hospital.
The background to the crime has so far remained unknown. Most recently, the public prosecutor's office had announced at the beginning of March that a possible murder weapon had been found. There were no traces, which could be found, which indicated a sexual motive, it said. According to the public prosecutor's office, nothing has changed so far. Dpa
