A YOUNG girl has been stabbed to death by two of her friends in a “friendship row”.
Two girls aged 12 and 13 confessed to the brutal murder of 12-year-old Louise, after her body was discovered dumped near a cycling path.
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Her parents had raised the alarm after she had visited a friend and not returned home.
The grisly murder has rocked the community of Freudenberg, Germany, which lies 50miles east of Cologne.
Louise died of blood loss from multiple stab wounds, according to prosecutor Mario Mannweiler.
No weapon has been found as of yet, and the victim showed no signs of sexual assault.
He told reporters: “We must assume that the crime was committed by two children from the victim’s circle of acquaintances.”
The two girls accused have been taken into custody of a youth welfare office.
The age of criminal responsibility in Germany is 14, putting the two girls who stand charged under the age limit.
Hendrik Wuest, governor of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Freudenberg is located, said he was appalled by the killing.
He said: “North Rhine-Westphalia is grieving. It is incomprehensible and unbearable that children are capable of such horrible acts.”
The case is eerily similar to that of the Slender Man Killings in 2014, which saw a girl stabbed 19 times.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weir, 12, believed they were being ordered to murder Payton Leutner, 12, by Slender Man.
Slender Man is an fictional online character who stalks children and is often depicted leading them into woodland.
The pair believed that if they offered the fictional fiend a “sacrifice” they would become his chosen disciples and could live in his secret mansion.
At their trial, in 2017, Morgan admitted stabbing her friend “everywhere” and, sobbing, told the court: “Anissa said that she couldn’t do it and then I had to.”
Despite their young age at the time of the crime, they were tried as adults and Geyser was sentenced to 40 years in a secure psychiatric institution while Weier was given 25 years.
Brave Payton is at college and plans to go into the medical profession, partly inspired by her trauma.
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