The tragic killing of a 13-year-old girl in Hjallerup on Monday evening is unusual in several ways and something that happens extremely rarely in Denmark.
A 17-year-old boy, who shortly before the murder had a romantic relationship with the 13-year-old victim, is charged with murder and rape, and if he is found guilty, the murder will join a very short list of similar cases.
According to deputy police inspector at North Jutland Police, Frank Olsen, who leads the investigation, a possible motive lies in the relationship between the victim and the suspected perpetrator.
Teenage murder happens extremely rarely in Denmark, and therefore the police also point it out as an isolated, tragic incident.
The case in Grenå
In Denmark, we have only seen very few cases that can be immediately compared to this case from Hjallerup.
One of the most recent examples of murder between teenagers happened last year in 2023.
On the evening of 26 November, East Jutland Police received a report that a 15-year-old boy had been stabbed in the stomach.
They subsequently sent more patrols and an ambulance, but the 15-year-old’s life might not be saved.
Several witnesses had witnessed the episode and a little over an hour later the police arrested a boy of the same age who was arrested and charged with the murder of the 15-year-old.
– This is a very serious and unfortunate case where a boy has been killed by a stab wound to the chest, said Jesper Rubow, special prosecutor at the Prosecutor’s Office at East Jutland Police, in a press release.
The case will be conducted as a jury trial at the Court in Randers later this year, where the 15-year-old suspected perpetrator is also charged with attempting to stab another 15-year-old and for violating the Knife Act.
Extremely rare
According to figures from the Ministry of Justice, children and young people under the age of 18 made up approximately 10 percent of homicide victims in Denmark between 2017 and 2021. This corresponds to 23 young people between the ages of 14 and 17 and one in 10 homicide victims.
But it is even rarer for perpetrators to be under the age of 18. In 2017 and 2021, perpetrators under the age of 18 accounted for approximately one in 20 perpetrators. This corresponds to 12 young people between the ages of 14 and 17.
Murders, where teenagers kill other teenagers, are therefore extremely rare in Denmark.
In 2018, DR’s investigative database editorial office tallied 1,338 murders in the period 1992 to 2016.
Out of them, 11 victims were under 18 at the time of the crime. Out of all the murder cases, 60 perpetrators were under the age of 18 and most often boys.
The case in Sønderborg
Another example of murder between teenagers in Denmark happened in 2011 in Sønderborg.
Here, two 13-year-old boys got into a fight, which developed when one of the two boys was stabbed and later died.
– Apparently, there has been talk of jealousy, where the boys have been following the same girl, deputy police inspector Hans Roost from South and South Jutland Police told JyskeVestkysten at the time.
The 13-year-old boy with the knife then ran home and told his mother regarding the murder, and she contacted the police.
The boy was subsequently transferred to the social authorities in Sønderborg Municipality due to his young age.
Happening abroad
Abroad, teenage homicide is seen more often than in Denmark.
This was the case, among other things, in a case from England in Manchester from February 2023.
Here, 16-year-old transgender Brianna Ghey was stabbed 28 times and killed by two 15-year-olds in a park. A boy and a girl respectively, according to the BBC.
They had planned the murder in several WhatsApp messages and subsequently tried to cover up the criminal act.
The two 15-year-olds pleaded not guilty, but following an 18-day trial at Manchester Crown Court, the two teenagers were jailed for life for the murder of the 16-year-old.
In England you can be punished if you are over 10 years old, but in Denmark you must be at least 15 years old.
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2024-03-13 04:40:35
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