Claim for Compensation for Pain and Suffering by Peggy's Mother Unsuccessful
In May 2001, little Peggy vanished, only to be found dead fifteen years later with the mystery of her death still unresolved. Her mother is seeking compensation from a prior suspect, but without success.
The mother of Peggy Knobloch from Upper Franconia, whose disappearance left her in the dark for so long only to find her daughter dead, has failed in her claim for compensation for emotional distress against a former suspect. The court's civil chamber in Hof dismissed her claim as unsubstantiated, as stated by a court spokesperson. She couldn't prove that this man had taken her child's body to a wooded area in 2001, the chamber declared.
The mother sought 75,000 euros in compensation from the ex-suspect in the astonishing criminal case. She believed her suffering for the past 15 years was due to his actions. She wanted 5,000 euros for each year of uncertainty she experienced.
This nine-year-old girl disappeared without a trace in May 2001 on her way home from school in Lichtenberg, Upper Franconia (Hof district). Her remains were discovered in a wooded area in Thuringia on the border with Bavaria in 2016. No one has been convicted as the perpetrator.
Questionable Confession
Her mother's claim stemmed from an earlier statement made by the man to the police in 2018. He claimed during questioning that he took Peggy's body to a wooded area in May 2001. According to him, he had received the dead girl's body from another man at a bus stop in Lichtenberg.
During his interrogation, however, the man is believed to have been put under pressure. The police denied this, but he later recanted his confession and was released. The chamber also cast doubt on the truthfulness of his statement on several points, as well as the inconsistencies between his police statement and the actual findings, which indicated that parts of his statement were not accurate.
Just as in the criminal justice system, the plaintiff has to provide evidence in the civil case. The verdict has not yet been finalized. The man had always denied the allegations and maintained that his statements to the police at that time were false and made entirely under pressure.
To this day, no one has been held accountable for the girl's death in the so-called cold case. A mentally disabled man from Lichtenberg was convicted of murdering Peggy in 2004, but was freed ten years later in a retrial. After the 41-year-old was no longer considered a suspect in 2018, the public prosecutor's office concluded the investigation in October 2020. In April 2021, her remains were secretly buried.
Read also:
- Floods: water levels remain critical in many places
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- Continuous operation in the flood areas
- Flood situation remains tense in many places
The case of Peggy Knobloch, the little girl from Upper Franconia who went missing in 2001 and was found dead in a wooden area in Thuringia in 2016, has attracted international attention due to the ongoing investigation. Despite a former suspect's questionable confession in 2018, the public prosecutor's office in Bavaria has concluded the investigation, citing insufficient evidence.
In the aftermath of the court's dismissal of Peggy's mother's compensation claim, there has been ongoing debate about the handling of missing persons cases in Germany, highlighting the need for improved communication and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the families of missing persons, both nationally and internationally.
Source: www.ntv.de
