A special group of experienced investigators will review the police's work in the Kirkerup case, after a report has raised new questions about the investigation into the case of the 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped in 2023.
This is according to the Ministry of Justice, as reported by Berlingske.
"Unfortunately, the report shows that there are some of the criticisms that have been raised where the police cannot adequately account for the course of events," says Minister of Justice Nicolai Wammen (S) to the newspaper.
"The report also shows that there are parts of the investigation that could have been handled differently, faster, and better," he adds.
Wammen will ask the Danish National Police to conduct a so-called peer review, in which experienced investigators from other police districts and the National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) will review the investigation.
------------------------------
Takes criticism seriously
------------------------------
The report from the Danish National Police, which was sent to the Folketing's Legal Affairs Committee on Friday evening, states that the police take the criticism of the investigation very seriously.
In April 2023, Philip Patrick Westh kidnapped a 13-year-old girl who had just been out delivering newspapers in Kirkerup near Slagelse.
He deliberately hit her with his car, abducted her, and subjected her to very severe and humiliating abuse for 27 hours.
In June 2024, he was sentenced in the Court of Næstved to life imprisonment for deprivation of liberty, rape, and attempted murder of the 13-year-old, the murder of 17-year-old Emilie Meng, who disappeared in 2016, and an assault on a 15-year-old efterskole student.
-----------------------------------------
CCTV footage led to investigation
-----------------------------------------
In an interview with Berlingske, South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police have confirmed that Philip Patrick Westh was identified as a possible perpetrator around 9:30 a.m., and that an investigation into him was therefore initiated.
This was based on CCTV footage showing his car passing a property 656 meters from the crime scene three times during the same period the 13-year-old girl was in the area.
Nevertheless, more than five hours passed before Westh was arrested at 2:48 p.m., at which point the girl was also found alive.
This is among the timelines that have raised questions about the police's handling of the investigation.
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.