Enlarge image
Dortmund harbor: securing evidence at the crime scene
Photo: Wickern / dpa
A 13-year-old boy is said to have killed a homeless man at the Dortmund harbor. The police and public prosecutor announced this on Friday. A cell phone video shows how the child stabbed the man with a knife on Thursday evening. The autopsy showed that the 31-year-old victim was killed by multiple stab wounds. It is clear "that the fatal stabs were inflicted on him by one of the underage children."
According to the information, there was a verbal argument between the victim and the child beforehand. There are also corresponding statements from the three other minors who were also temporarily arrested. The police provisionally arrested four underage suspects on Thursday evening. They were the 13-year-old, another child of the same age and two young people aged 14 and 15.
The two 13-year-olds, who were under criminal responsibility, had already been released from police custody after their hearing. The victim was identified a few hours after the crime as a 31-year-old man who had no known last address.
“It is currently not assumed that the child was involved in the crime.”
Witnesses saw an argument and called the police. The four minors fled but were temporarily arrested minutes later. According to the current status of the investigation, it can now be assumed that the four "encountered the victim by chance at the port," it was said on Friday. There are said to have been insults between the 13-year-old and the man. A scuffle ensued and the 13-year-old is said to have stabbed him.
The cell phone video that shows his crime came from the 14-year-old, said the prosecutor. The alleged perpetrator is Bulgarian. The possible murder knife was tracked down by a police dog near the crime scene.
According to the information, the two young people were represented by a lawyer and were also released on Friday. “It is currently not assumed that the child was involved in the crime,” said the investigators.
wit/dpa