Police union chief blames Angela Merkel’s open-door policy for death of teen girl murdered by Afghan migrant
Maria Ladenburger, the daughter of a senior EU official, was raped and murdered in the city of Freiburg in October
A HIGH-RANKING German cop has blamed Angela Merkel’s open-door immigration policy for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.
An Afghan teen has now confessed to killing Maria Ladenburger, the daughter of a senior EU official, who was drowned in the city of Freiburg in October.
But Rainer Wendt, the chairman of the German Police Workers Union (DPoIG), has blasted Germany’s immigration policy claiming the crime could have been prevented.
Speaking with Bild, he said: “We wouldn't have this victim, and so many others, if our country had been better prepared for the dangers that always go along with massive immigration.”
This is a view shared by the country’s right-wing politicians who have continually slammed the German Chancellor’s open-door policy.
related stories
However, others believe that there are Germans equally capable of such terrible crime.
"Such brutality is unfortunately perpetuated by natives and foreigners. This unfortunately is not a new phenomenon," said Christian Democratic Union politician Julia Klöckner.
Maria was the daughter of Dr Clemens Ladenburger, a lawyer who assists the legal director of the European Commission.
The medical student helped out at a refugee centre in her spare time but is unclear if she was known to her alleged murderer.
The teenager was snatched from her bike and raped before she was drowned in the River Dreisam on October 16.
A 17-year-old Afghan refugee was arrested on Friday and will go before the courts next year.
He has confessed to murder but can still change his plea, and it is unclear if he has confessed to rape.
After Maria's body was discovered, cops searched a bush nearby and found an 18.5cm-long strand of black hair that partially been dyed blonde.
Maria's scarf was found at the bottom of a riverbed.
When DNA from the hair and scarf were checked by police they found no matches.
Cops later checked CCTV and saw a 17-year-old on a local tram who had long black hair dyed partially blonde - similar to that of the one found in the bush.
When officers brought him in and checked his DNA they found it matched the samples from the crime scene.
Officers are investigating if he is responsible for the rape and murder of another woman in Endinge, 18 miles away from Freiburg, at the beginning of November.
There is no DNA evidence for officers to go on.
Mr Ladenburger and his wife Frederika placed a memorial notice for Maria in a local paper.
It read: "Maria was for 19 years a singular ray of sunshine for our family, and that she will remain.
"We thank God for this gift, that he made you with us. We are sure that she is safe with him."
Public prosecutor Dieter Inhofer said the teen suspect was living with a family in Freiburg and had committed no crimes since his arrival in Germany.
David Müller, head of the police Special Commission, said in a press conference: "Through interviews and a web-based survey, we were able to reconstruct Maria's final hours.
"The 19-year-old student had been at a party.
"By 2.37am she left the party, Maria then cycled home as usual.
"The young woman had been the victim of a sexual offence and a violent crime."
The arrest of the Afghan refugee comes against rising anger against Angela Merkel's perceived "open-door refugee policy".
A Syrian family named their child "Angela Merkel"in honour of her policy after being allowed into Germany.
Their asylum application was later rejected.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368