News
Man charged with murder of Emilie Meng and attempted murder of a 13-year-old girl
TheCopenhagenPost
January 8th, 2024
Share
What many have been waiting for happened on Monday. The police have brought charges against a 32-year-old man who has been in custody for almost a year.
The police are charging a 32-year-old man for multiple felonies. (Flickr/Alan Cleaver)
The indictment covers, among other things, the murder, abduction, and rape of 17-year-old Emilie Meng, who was found dead in 2016. He is also charged with the abduction, rape, and attempted murder of a 13-year-old girl in April 2023.
In addition, the man is charged with having attempted to abduct a 15-year-old secondary school student in Sorø in November 2022. In this case, he is also charged with attempted rape.
The man’s defender, Karina Skou, states that he partially admits in the case of the 13-year-old girl, but that he denies the charge of attempted murder, which was not part of the original charge.
As for the other two cases, he pleads not guilty, says the defense attorney, who has no further comments to Ritzau.
The trial against the man is set to begin on 14 May in the Court in Næstved. There are 17 days set aside until the judgment is to be handed down on June 28.
Police charge 32-year-old man with murder of Emilie Meng
“With the indictment and in connection with the upcoming trial, previously unknown information from the criminal case will become available to the public. We hope that the communication of the case will be done with due respect for the very young victims and their relatives,” says chief prosecutor Marie Bindslev in a press release.
Unsolved for years
The crimes against the young girls have generated a lot of attention in Denmark, where murder and abduction are rare.
In June 2023, a 38-year-old man was found guilty of killing and raping 22-year-old Mia Skadhauge Stevn.
The case of Emilie Meng was unsolved for several years, until the 32-year-old abducted a 13-year-old girl near Kirkerup in Zealand last April. This led to a search of the man’s home and soon after a charge of murder of Emilie Meng, who disappeared without a trace on a July night in Korsør in 2016.
Since the 32-year-old was arrested in April last year, he has voluntarily agreed to have his imprisonment extended.
Photos found on a computer
Astrid Søndberg, TV 2’s court correspondent, believes that the police have solid evidence against the man.
“There is some form of DNA linking him to the murder of Emilie Meng. The defendant also had a car that corresponds to the one in which it is believed that she was kidnapped. At the same time, you can link his credit card to purchases that were made in the time around the murder of Emilie Meng,” says Astrid Søndberg to TV2.
She also explains that photos and/or videos have been found on his computer which, according to the police, link him to the murder.
South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police will not comment on the case apart from emphasizing that only charges have been brought and that it will ultimately be up to the court to assess whether the 32-year-old man is guilty.
Share
