The Louise case
When children kill other children – how can it happen?
The spot where twelve-year-old Luise was found.
© Roberto Pfeil / Picture Alliance
Violent crime among children – as frightening as ever. The case of Luise from Freudenberg is currently occupying the whole of Germany. The twelve year old was killed. A 12-year-old and a 13-year-old girl are also suspected. But how does it happen that children or young people become violent?
Luise has been missing since Saturday. On Sunday, the 12-year-old was found near a cycle path in Rhineland-Palatinate, right on the state border with North Rhine-Westphalia. The young girl is dead. Numerous knife wounds were found during the autopsy. According to the investigators, Luise bled to death.
Two girls of the same age are suspected – the three are said to have known each other. The twelve and 13-year-olds confessed to having killed Luise with numerous knife wounds. They are currently “housed outside of the home environment,” said the Siegen-Wittgenstein district responsible. The two girls still have contact with their parents. This is important because of the age, but also for a positive development of the current circumstances. It is also an extraordinary situation for them, “which requires a lot of empathy and prudent action,” said Thomas Wüst, district youth department head, to the “Deutsche Presseagentur”.
There are many reasons why children become violent
But how does it happen that children or young people become violent? A look at the police crime statistics (PKS) shows that in 2021 there were a total of 19 suspected cases of murder or manslaughter by children under the age of 14. In 2020 and 2019 there were eleven each. However, it is not clear in how many of these cases the victims were also children.
There are many reasons for violent behavior, says Rainer Rettinger from the German Children’s Association when asked by BRIGITTE. “Parenting, experiencing domestic violence, child abuse and neglect have a big impact on this.” But “overprotection” can also lead to a child developing aggression, the expert explains. What led to this in the Luisa case is still open. It is just as unclear whether it is a targeted homicide, according to Rettinger.
Violence has many facets – psychological and physical
Violence has many facets. One of these forms is bullying. Social media gives this type of often psychological violence a whole new dimension. Rainer Rettinger sees the problem primarily in the fact that teachers and other social workers are not trained enough. “This is an enormous structural deficit and means for people who work with groups, in homes, in the day group, educational aids or in school, where children are every day and cannot avoid, first of all an excessive demand and helplessness”. There is an urgent need for action here.
In the course of the case in Freudenberg, the discussion arose that the age of sentence should be lowered. “Childhood means protection and a rehearsal room, and that’s a good thing,” says Rettinger. Children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible. This means that they do not face any criminal consequences if they commit an offence. By the time a person reaches the age of 14, the legislature trusts a person to be able to see his or her actions sufficiently to be aware of the consequences they may entail. Before the age of 14, it is assumed that this is developmentally not the case. The age of sentence “was fought historically and should remain so according to science,” adds Rettinger.
Children under the age of 14 are criminally responsible
However, impunity does not mean that the two girls continue to live their lives as before. They have already been taken from their families and are being looked after by the youth welfare office, and they are not currently attending school either. As a rule, the local youth welfare service is responsible for making decisions. Rettinger says it is also about working through the background that may have led to the crime and what the children need now. In order to process the case, different bodies come into play.
The life of the two girls has only just begun, is there any way back into society? In any case, intensive individual case support is important, says Rettinger. “There are also great projects where children travel abroad with one person for a year in order to be able to bond again.” Basically, it’s about working on the child’s self-regulation so that he or she learns to manage his or her aggression. The ability to relate and empathize with other people needs to be worked on.
Other sources used: dpa.de zdf.de, statista.com