Central region of Saxony - "Tragic loss": Döbeln grieves for slain girl Valeriia
Daddy appealed to kidnappers on video from Ukraine, saying, "Please find the courage to return our dear child to us." But the slight hope expressed in "Bild am Sonntag" for a reunion with the beloved daughter has been crushed.
Nine-year-old Valeriia was discovered in a remote forest near Döbeln at 2:30 pm on Tuesday, amid the thick foliage. After performing an autopsy on the corpse, investigators suspect a crime, as they are now looking into manslaughter and murder. The current focus of the investigation is on Valeriia's social circle, said State Prosecutor Ingrid Burghart on Wednesday.
Valeriia had been missing for over a week
On the Monday of last week, Valeriia left for school in the morning. However, she never made it to class. Her mom didn't call the school until the afternoon because she was still waiting. By the next day, it was clear that Valeriia was missing. For days, the search was relentless: with drones and helicopters, with specialized dogs and divers; hundreds of police officers scoured the city, analyzing images and videos from cameras by "Super-Recognizers." Known sexual offenders in the area were sought out for clues to the girl's whereabouts in various television programs. Even contacts were made with colleagues abroad - the girl and her mother had come to Germany before the war in Ukraine, the father was fighting at the front. For a long time, there was no clue as to her whereabouts, even an accident was considered a possibility.
However, since Wednesday, there is an ominous certainty. And it has left even the hardened police with a heavy heart. "We've been searching for Valeriia for over nine days," said Police President Carsten Kaempf. The devastating loss and bewilderment rip through the ranks of the police force. "The loss of a child tears your heart apart." Everything will be done to solve this crime and catch the perpetrator or perpetrators, he promised. "That's our absolute focus."
The prosecutor's office assumes that the location of the body is also the crime scene. According to the information given, it is a forest between Hermsdorf and Mahlitzsch - around 4 kilometers from the girl's home on foot. There are no signs of sexual abuse, it was stated. The precise cause of death was not disclosed due to the ongoing investigation.
According to the police, a witness had noticed an early sign of a cry for help. However, this could not be narrowed down at first. The witness had heard the cry and the location of the child's body were about 2 km apart. Search operations initially concentrated on the immediate vicinity of the home, the school route, and the school. On Tuesday, over 400 police officers scoured fields and forests in the southern part of the city and found the body.
"We are all greatly affected and shocked by the death of little Valeriia," said Mayor Sven Liebhauser (CDU). "Döbeln is reeling." Many of the citizens and residents are not in the mood to celebrate at the moment. Therefore, the city of approximately 24,000 inhabitants in the Mittelsachsen district has decided to cancel its planned city festival this weekend. Instead, Liebhauser called on people to remember the girl together and with candles in their hands on the market square on Friday evening. There will also be a memorial service on Sunday. A donation account has been set up to support the family.
The news that a child from their ranks has been violently taken from life also has a profound effect on teachers and students at Valeriia's school. Several school psychologists have been on site since Wednesday for a crisis intervention, said the spokesman for the Ministry of Education and Culture, Clemens Arndt. The authority is also looking into any potential misconduct by the school, as the absence of the girl from class was not reported to her mother.
Read also:
- Despite the efforts of the police and the community in Saxony, the search for answers in Valeriia's tragic case has led them to investigate possible crimes in her social circle, as mentioned by State Prosecutor Ingrid Burghart.
- Even the German authorities were reached out to for assistance, as Valeriia and her mother had come to Germany before the war in Ukraine, and her father was currently fighting at the front.
- In the aftermath of Valeriia's death, officials in Döbeln, including Mayor Sven Liebhauser, expressed their condolences and promised support, cancelling the city's planned festival and encouraging community members to remember her together.
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