Germany Germany - Rebecca Reusch, 15, Berlin, 18 Feb 2019 *Arrest*

[Elainera]

So we know (from the father's interview) that LE had already questioned the BIL several times. I assume they waited with an arrest in hopes that he would lead them to her. I hope he talks but the article above said he's "silent".

How terrible for this family.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Now I am wondering the timeline of that morning...

BIL returned from a "Business Dinner" at 5:45 a.m....
Not a business trip?
but a business dinner?... (Assuming fairly local...but what kind of business dinner lasts until dawn on a
Sunday night/Monday morning? )
and since Sis is reported to have gone to day care at 7:00 am...

AND... Per BILD...
BIL supposedly looked in on RR to find her gone at 7:15 a.m...

That means the whole crime was committed in just 15 minutes?

other thought...
If there is no evidence IN the house...

I wonder if there has been/will be evidence in BIL's car?

 

[Elainera]

who deleted her own Instagram photos ?

I think that was the other sister V.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

very sad... figured we were all tiptoeing around this... Very very sad...

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I think that was the other sister V.

Now I wonder if it was actually BIL that deleted them?

JMO...

 

[Elainera]

I guess they will now take forensics into the apartment and car.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I wonder where BIL works? (Worked... )

I wonder if the grounds have been investigated...

I am wondering where he took RR?...

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Does anyone remember it being reported at what time the
9-1-1 call was made? (Or equivalent in Germany)

and by whom?

 

[Dre]

While I’ve thought it was him from get-go (many of us have) I’m so so sad for this family. It’s so hard to wrap your head around losing a young loved one to foul play, but then to realize the perpetrator is right under your nose and someone you loved, trusted, accepted into the family, and then defended... I just can’t imagine. How must her eldest sister feel?

 

[cybervampira]

Does anyone remember it being reported at what time the
9-1-1 call was made? (Or equivalent in Germany)

and by whom?

I don’t know but 110 is the German equivalent.

 

[otto]

I don’t know but 110 is the German equivalent.

I think I read somewhere here that the school usually places a call to let parents know that a child is absent, but no call was received that day. That means that she was not noticed missing until the end of the day. Wasn't there also a delay of several days before there were searches? Now I'm wondering whether the brother in law discouraged the family from worrying to buy more time.

 

[Jim_M]

Earlier reports had the BIL coming home at 5:45am from some kind of business function. Could this actually have been the BIL coming home from taking RR out of the vicinity? As the sister (Jessica) did not check in on RR before leaving at 7am, do we even know what time she saw RR last? IMO this BIL person had 3 days to hide all of the evidence! Crazy!

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I don’t know but 110 is the German equivalent.

thank you, Cybervampira!

 

[Scrapper18]

Does anyone have a clue as to how German law works? Do they have the death penalty? Will they consider plea bargains? Just wondering if they have anything they could offer the BIL to get him to both confess and lead them to RR.

 

[Ched]

Earlier reports had the BIL coming home at 5:45am from some kind of business function. Could this actually have been the BIL coming home from taking RR out of the vicinity? As the sister (Jessica) did not check in on RR before leaving at 7am, do we even know what time she saw RR last? IMO this BIL person had 3 days to hide all of the evidence! Crazy!

the sister would have heard him come in , go out and come in again though wouldn’t she ? BIL doesn’t appear to need much sleep then if he gets in 5:45 and gets up again 7:15

 

[AliceInPain]

Does anyone remember it being reported at what time the
9-1-1 call was made? (Or equivalent in Germany)

and by whom?

Her mother reported her missing Monday evening, but the police didn´t start investigating for three days because "most teenagers return within that time."
If I remember correctly.

 

[cybervampira]

Does anyone have a clue as to how German law works? Do they have the death penalty? Will they consider plea bargains? Just wondering if they have anything they could offer the BIL to get him to both confess and lead them to RR.

Nooooooo! No death penalty in Germany or anywhere in Europe except Belarus.

All about US vs. German plea bargains here:
https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/op...ver/index/docId/7457/file/S113-151_aiup02.pdf

[...]

The case of plea bargaining in Germany is distinct from that of the U.S.A. in that the introduction of Germany’s plea bargaining into its legal system was done through the back door in the 1980s. German bargains are known as Absprachen, they concern confessions and do not replace the trial but generally shortens them. Unlike in the U.S.A., where the prosecutor has vast discretion not to charge, the German procedure of Klageerzwingungsverfahren allows the aggrieved person or party to appeal to the judge to compel the prosecutor to pursue the case. The judge is the key player in the plea bargains as they are the final decision-maker. It is then the trial judge then who decides based upon the evidence in front of them in the case docket whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. This procedure though seriously undermines the principle of the presumption of innocence. The reason for this is that the trial judge is the same person who then is usually the trier of the facts. This then creates an impossible situation whereby the defendant cannot be afforded a fair trial as the judge cannot possibly be impartial in these situations. As Germany has sought to bring about reforms which might increase the immediacy and orality of the trial (as in the U.S.A) they have lost the benefits somewhat of the investigation dossier which is particularly useful for determining the guilt in the context of the plea bargain. In Germany there have been calls to move back to this practice of pre-trial investigation which involves gathering a pre-trial dossier.

[...]

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Her mother reported her missing Monday evening, but the police didn´t start investigating for three days because "most teenagers return within that time."
If I remember correctly.

Thank you, Alice!

 

[Vail]

Earlier reports had the BIL coming home at 5:45am from some kind of business function. Could this actually have been the BIL coming home from taking RR out of the vicinity? As the sister (Jessica) did not check in on RR before leaving at 7am, do we even know what time she saw RR last? IMO this BIL person had 3 days to hide all of the evidence! Crazy!

I always wondered if he really did come home and was inebriated, which lead to a sexual assault and coverup. This is an interesting thought, though.

Does anyone have a clue as to how German law works? Do they have the death penalty? Will they consider plea bargains? Just wondering if they have anything they could offer the BIL to get him to both confess and lead them to RR.

Germany does not have the death penalty and a murder charge would get him 17-18 years. Police could make deals.

Detailed version in English

 

[otto]

Nooooooo! No death penalty in Germany or anywhere in Europe except Belarus.

All about US vs. German plea bargains here:
https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/op...ver/index/docId/7457/file/S113-151_aiup02.pdf

If he's young enough, he will be viewed as worthy of rehabilitation. If she has been murdered, isn't it a maximum of 7 years with the last couple of years a transition back to the community?