In the small village of Pragsdorf in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the unthinkable happened. Little Joel (6) was murdered in the hamlet of 580 souls. His parents reported him missing on Thursday when he did not return from his play outing. In the evening his body was found in the bushes near a football field. Police are still looking for the killer, who allegedly stabbed with a pointed object.
In Pragsdorf, north of Berlin, nothing has been the same since Thursday evening. There is bewilderment. Police cars drive through the village and the residents are in shock.
“We have 150 children in the village, something like this has never happened here before. It’s terrible! I spoke to Joel’s mother this morning. She is completely at her wits’ end,” a resident of the village told ‘Bild’.
When it became known that little Joël was missing, the village searched with all its might for the little boy. On foot, by bike and by car. Every corner was searched. Over and over they shouted: “Joel!” Even the mayor helped with the search.
Until around 9 p.m. the fire brigade found the boy lying in a bush with serious injuries to his upper body. Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. Police spokeswoman Diane Krüger said a knife had been found nearby. “We don’t know yet if this is the murder weapon,” she added. Nothing is yet known about the murderer or the motive. The police are diligently searching. The investigation is running at full speed.
“The police are following several leads,” spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service in Neubrandenburg, Tim Wischmann, told the German press agency ‘DPA’. However, no suspect had yet been identified in the early evening.
The spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service said it was still unclear whether the place where the body was found was also the scene of the crime. The place where the body was found is in the village, not far from a lake, where there is also a football field. The police have secured many traces at the site. The area has been cordoned off.
Villagers were interrogated all day. “It is important to question the residents as quickly as possible, then their memory is the best,” police spokeswoman Diane Krüger told ‘Bild’.
Meanwhile, friends and acquaintances of Joel’s family are one fundraiser started to support the hard-hit family.
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