The body of a nine-year-old girl from Ukraine who disappeared on June 3 was found in Germany. A murder case has been opened and is being investigated.
Let us remind you that on June 3 Valeria went to school and didn't come back. Heimnitz Police Chief Carsten Kampf told a press conference that Valeria was the victim of a crime, and the police are investigating her death as a murder. At the same time he added: forensic medical examination in Leipzig I found no signs of sexual abuse on the child’s body.
According to the Leipzig newspaper LVZ, the girl was found in a remote part of the forest, in the thickets, four kilometers from her home in Döbeln, where she lived with her mother and stepfather. Ingrid Burghart, senior prosecutor at Chemnitz, noted that Valeria was killed in the same place where her body was found. While police do not have a specific suspect, Burghard said at a press conference that the investigation is ongoing “among her family’s inner circle.”
On Monday, June 3, Valeria went to school, but never got there. A search operation began on Tuesday, involving more than 400 police from the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, as well as other emergency services, including firefighters and divers, searching the bottom of the Mulde River. Residents of Döbeln, a small town with a population of about 24 thousand people, organized private search parties and looked for the girl in gardens, basements and garages.
During the search, the police interviewed several hundred city residents, and also checked the location of all persons known to the police who had committed sex crimes. Police spokesman Mendy Kürschner says: “We hoped that we would find Valeria alive.”
Many media writes BBC publication, wondered why did it take a week to find the missing girl, if on June 5 a woman contacted the police who allegedly heard cries for help on the day of Valeria’s disappearance not far from the place where her body was found, and the police admitted this fact. To this, Mendy Kürschner replied that the police did not have the right to narrow the search area on the basis of a private statement:
“In order to change the search area, reliable information is needed.”
Valeria's father is in Ukraine. He addressed in a video message to everyone who cares:
“For two years I saw my children only through the phone screen. My ex-wife promised to return Valeria when the holidays began, but this did not happen.”
Man in video message accused his ex-wife of not having enough time for the child. In particular, Valeria went to school on her own and without any means of communication. Although the schoolgirl had a phone and a smart watch. According to him, the police were informed too late. In a conversation with OBOZ.UA, he said that the day before he contacted the German police. They confirmed that his daughter was found murdered in the forest. On Thursday, June 13, Roman already left for Germany to pick up his daughter’s body and bury it at home.
By data LVZ newspaper, events developed as follows:
June 3: At about 6:50 a.m. Valeria went to school, but never came to class. Her disappearance was only noticed after she failed to return home. Valeria's mother filed a police report about her daughter's disappearance. The police began a search and around midnight published a press release declaring the missing girl wanted and describing her.
June 4: Divers and water police are involved in the search. Police say they are investigating on two fronts: accident and crime.
June 5: Police are urging the public to check their gardens, basements, garages and sheds. The State Department of Education and Schools is investigating why the school did not immediately notify the mother of the child's absence.
June 6: police are expanding their search. Since the girl and her mother are from Ukraine, and her father is still there, investigators are contacting their colleagues in Ukraine, as well as in Poland and the Czech Republic, as possible transit countries.
June 7: Investigators used computer facial recognition programs. The mayor of Döbeln, Sven Liebhauser, says everyone remains hopeful that “she will be found safe and sound.”
June 8/9: Valeria’s father publishes a video message: “I appeal to those involved in her disappearance. Find the courage to bring back our beloved child. I really hope I can hug my daughter soon.” He says he is ready to come to Germany to help with the search.
June 10th: a week after the disappearance, the search continues. The police are announcing another large-scale operation, after which the search will be temporarily stopped.
June 11: Police find the body around 2:30 p.m. Jana Ulbricht, a spokeswoman for the Chemnitz police department, says it is “very likely that this is the missing girl.”
12 June: The police announce at a press conference that Valeria is dead, most likely murdered.
One of two men whom police suspected of involvement in the murder of nine-year-old Ukrainian Valeria in Germany, provided an alibi. Bild reports this. Tabloid journalists talked to the man. He turned out to be a Ukrainian Gennady, who had a relationship with the mother of the murdered Valeria. Gennady toldthat he flew to Istanbul on May 31, that is, 3 days before the girl disappeared. And he returned to Germany only on June 12, when the child’s body was discovered by the police. The husband said that in Turkey he had an appointment with a dentist in Istanbul. As proof, he showed a medical bill for $5,110 and stamps in his passport.
He also said that he learned that he was wanted only upon his return to Germany. At the same time he admitted that I saw missed calls, but did not respond to them. The police detained him when he was returning from the airport.
He also said that he met Valeria’s mother Nadezhda two years ago, and they were in a relationship for five months. According to the man himself, he “was angry and offended” the girl’s mother. Bild writes that the man threatened her, which is why Nadezhda reported him to the police for “stalking.” “My heart hurts, I had a good relationship with [погибшей] a girl. I want the criminal to be found quickly, and I help the police with my testimony,” added Gennady.
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