An the first day after the disappearance of 14-year-old Ayleen A. from South Baden, police searched with sniffer dogs and helicopters in Gottenheim, Umkirch and March. About a hundred firefighters participated in the search on July 22, and some winegrowers from the area also helped. In vain. It was said that the girl had been seen on July 21 in the evening in the northern Tuniberg, which is located in Breisgau between the Black Forest and the Rhine. She had wanted to return a hoodie to a friend between 4 and 6 pm. However, according to the current investigations by the public prosecutor’s office and the Freiburg criminal police, the girl, described as “shy and reserved,” had arranged to meet a man via chat that evening.

Like almost all young people of her age, Ayleen A. also used various messenger services as well as the chat function of the online gaming platform “Fortnite”. Arno Englen, head of the Freiburg criminal police, said on Monday at a press conference on the murder case of Ayleen: “We had to quickly determine that we are dealing with a digital search for clues.” Only once did the missing woman’s cell phone provider report a log-in attempt – in Hesse. Through extensive analysis of digital data, the investigation team finally succeeded in locating the girl’s body by helicopter on July 28 in a difficult-to-access quarry pond near Bad Nauheim. The alleged perpetrator, with whom Ayleen A. had apparently arranged to meet in Gottenheim, reportedly drove with her to Hesse on the evening of July 21. “72 hours after Ayleen’s body was found, we were able to arrest the perpetrator,” Englen said. Police did not meet him at his home, but in Frankfurt.

The suspect is a 29-year-old German citizen with a criminal record from near Wetzlar. At the age of 14, he had “attacked from behind” and sexually molested an eleven-year-old girl. As a result, he was convicted of sexual abuse and attempted rape. From 2007 to 2017, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital for the serious sexual offense. After his release, he was monitored for five years, until January 25, 2022, by the Central Office for the Monitoring of Sex Offenders at Risk of Recidivism (ZÜRS) of the Hessian State Criminal Police Office. The program includes regular endangerment interviews as well as supervision by the social services. The accused is said to have contacted Ayleen A. via social networks only after the end of the control measures. The identity with which he moved around on the net and the age he feigned are still being investigated.

Personal belongings of Ayleen A.

On July 29, police searched the suspect’s apartment and found several personal items belonging to Ayleen A. A few hours later, police were able to arrest the suspect. “We are conducting an investigation into the deprivation of minors, sexual assault and murder with intent to conceal,” prosecutor Franziska Scheuble said Monday. Because the body must have floated for several days in the Teufelsee lake in the Wetterau district of Hesse, the autopsy was extremely difficult. It lasted seven hours, only on the basis of the dental status and the DNA profile, the body of the girl could finally be identified. The forensic experts have not yet been able to clarify whether and in what form the victim was sexually abused or raped; the exact cause of death has also not yet been determined.

The suspect arrested on Friday has been in custody since Saturday. He is said to have denied the crime at first, meanwhile he makes use of his right to remain silent. “Unfortunately, we had no chance to find Ayleen in time and alive. This is bitter,” said Freiburg police chief Franz Semling. The anonymity on the Internet had protected the perpetrator, and Ayleen’s cell phone unfortunately could not be located. Despite many educational events, young people still carelessly use the contact possibilities of the Internet. The case shows that it is helpful if at least a second person is present as a witness at an initial meeting arranged on the Internet. According to an initial assessment by investigators, ten million digital traces will have to be evaluated over the next few weeks to reconstruct the course of the crime. Thomas Hauburger, the senior public prosecutor in Giessen, said that the young woman had probably left the “disappearance site” still alive. Whether she was killed on the trip or at the lake, must still be clarified. According to the current state of the investigation, no other persons were involved in the chat communication and the appointment. “There are no indications of confidants, but we still have to evaluate very extensive chat histories.” The alleged perpetrator and Ayleen A. apparently initiated their meeting via chat for months until the fateful encounter in southern Baden on the afternoon of July 21.