Teen in western Germany admits to killing three-year-old half-brother
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German police stand guard outside an apartment building in Detmold, Germany, Nov 7, 2019.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
MUNICH (DPA) - A 15-year-old-girl in western Germany has confessed to killing her three-year-old half-brother, police said on Friday (Nov 8).
"It is assumed that the motive for the crime centres on the girl's difficult family circumstances and that she had developed a deep hatred for her half-brother," investigators said in a statement.
They noted that the girl had not herself provided a concrete cause and was suffering from partial memory loss.
The teen is thought to have stabbed the toddler in their family home in Detmold, a town of around 70,000 people in North-Rhine Westphalia, late on Wednesday.
An autopsy has shown that the boy died of 28 stab wounds.
"It is assumed that the boy was asleep when the crime was committed," investigators said.
The girl fled the scene and an intensive police search followed, using dogs and a helicopter.
She was apprehended early on Thursday.
At the request of the prosecutor, the district court in Detmold issued on Friday arrest warrant for murder.
The teen will be assessed by a psychiatrist and held in the Iserlohn juvenile prison due to the severity of the crime and possible risk of absconding.