Murderer of 9-year-old Ukrainian girl Valeriia sentenced to life in Germany
A 37-year-old Moldovan citizen was found guilty of the murder of 9-year-old Ukrainian refugee Valeriia and sentenced to life in Germany.
This is reported by Tagesspiegel, Censor.NET reports.
According to the prosecutor's office, the involvement of a Moldovan citizen is evidenced by the analysis of mobile phone data, camera recordings, as well as tire tracks and DNA at the crime scene.
The man is the former partner of the murdered girl's mother.
Valeriia's father, who is a military officer, came to the court and said that his daughter had been brutally murdered. He demanded the "maximum possible" punishment.
The convict's lawyer admitted that there was no evidence that anyone other than his client was responsible for the child's death. However, he believed that the murder was committed without malice, and therefore asked to be sentenced to manslaughter and not to specify an exact sentence.
Valeriia has lived in Germany with her mother since 2022, and her father is in the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Her mother and father divorced in 2023.
The disappearance of 9-year-old Valeriia in Germany
On 3 June 2024, the girl did not reach school. A search operation was launched, involving more than 300 law enforcement officers.
She was last seen at around 6:50 am, when she left her home to catch the bus to school, but was never seen there. The school did not raise the alarm due to her absence, so the girl's mother did not notice her daughter's disappearance until around 18:30 the same day.
Later, on 11 June, a body was found in the woods near the city of Debeln (Saxony) and identified as Valeriia's. It was found far from the forest paths, in the undergrowth of an impassable area. Investigators focused on the family's social circle, the local prosecutor's office said. No suspects or arrests have been made so far.
The girl's father, military officer Roman Hudzenko, has seen his children only through his phone screen for the past two years. According to him, his ex-wife promised to bring Valeriia back as soon as the holidays began, but she did not do so. Roman went to Germany and was released from the front.
On June 14, 2024, a 36-year-old man was detained in Prague, who is considered one of the suspects in the murder of 9-year-old Ukrainian Valeriia in Germany.
