Patrols start at homes of German schoolgirls who murdered 12-year-old amid vigilante attack fears

Police are conducting 24-hour patrols at the homes of two schoolgirls who fatally stabbed a 12-year-old classmate in Germany, it has emerged.

Officers have been urging people not to share the identities of the suspects – aged 12 and 13 – on social media for fear of vigilante attacks, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Photos of the girls with the word “killer” are readily available on several sites as outrage grows that they will both elude justice for being under the age of 14 for criminal liability in Germany. A petition demanding that the law be changed has now garnered around 150,000 signatures.

Online death threats have been made against the girls and they and their families have been taken from their homes in the sleepy village of Freudenberg near Cologne following the brutal stabbing of Luise Frisch, 12, earlier this month.

Patrol cars are stationed outside the homes of the suspects and it is unlikely that their families will ever be able to return.

In a statement, the police said: ‘After the murder in Freudenberg, the public prosecutor’s office and the police warn against speculation and the resulting spread of false reports.

“Due to the widespread public interest and sympathy that comes with it, rumors about the alleged background to the incident continue to surface.

“Apparently there is speculation, especially on social media, that is inconsistent with the current status of the investigation. The public’s need for information is very high in this case, but detailed information cannot be published due to the protection of all personal rights by the investigative authorities.

“The public prosecutor’s office and the police therefore ask not to participate in speculation and not to stir up discussions about the background of the incident, also to protect the next of kin.”

Luise was stabbed more than 30 times during the March 11 attack and her body was then pushed over an embankment in a remote forest in Hohenhain, near Freudenberg.

The suspects even posted a photo of themselves dancing on TikTok the next day, just as Luise’s body was found by police after her parents raised the alarm.

A private memorial service for her will be held later this week at the Evangelical Church in Freudenberg, where her family held a worship service, and will be passed on to her school for friends.

Despite public anger over the fact that both girls will not face a criminal trial, judges and the Justice Department have said it is unlikely that the law regarding the age of responsibility will be changed.

Speaking to MailOnline, a senior official from the German Association of Judges warned of a knee-jerk response to lowering the age of criminal responsibility in the country.

Law professor Gerd Hamme said that “decisions made” during “emotionally heated” events were not a “good basis” for law changes – as an online petition demanding the law be changed had garnered nearly 150,000 signatures.

Currently the age of criminal responsibility in Germany is 14 – in Britain it is 10 – and the murder of Luise, the first juvenile to be murdered by children in living memory, has sparked major debate over when a young person should be tried .

An autopsy conducted at the University of Mainz described it as a ‘bloody attack and frenzied murder’ – all of which contributed to calls for a change in the age limit for children’s trial.

Professor Hamme said: ‘In Germany it is the job of the legislator to determine whether 14 years is the correct limit for criminal liability. A change seems to me only necessary if the capacities of the children and young people and their maturity have changed compared to before.

“I have no evidence for that and the current time is in any case very unsuitable for making decisions about changing the criminal liability limit. Because the mood is very emotionally heated right now. That is perfectly understandable, but it is not a good basis for revising well-established regulations. It is better to approach this with a cool head.

“Publicly there is discussion about changing the limits of criminal liability because of the terrible crime in Freudenberg. The discussion, however, is not characterized by factual arguments, but by dismay and horror. In my opinion, the legislator should check whether our current regulations are still appropriate.

“But they have to let the Freudenberg case pass before any decisions are made. It is true that the two alleged perpetrators cannot be charged by a prosecutor and convicted by a criminal court. However, the state is not standing still.

‘The youth welfare offices in Germany tend to take it upon themselves. There are several parenting measures that can be taken.

“This goes so far that the children can be removed from their families if necessary. However, it is impossible for the children to return to their old, normal life. They also do not stay in Freudenberg. This is excluded.

“In any case, the location will have to be changed. It is also possible that there will be a name change at a later date. However, this will not be decided immediately.’

But the comments on the online petition outweighed Professor Hamme’s opinion as a change of law was demanded.

Desiree Engels said: ‘Justice has to be done for them, a 12 year old and a 13 year old know exactly what is right and what is wrong. They can see the difference very well.’

Monice Bremer said, “Murder is not a trivial offense, everyone had to consider the consequences for their behavior, what monsters do they do so cruel, what will become of them when they grow up if there are no consequences.”

But a spokesman for Germany’s Justice Ministry told MailOnline that it was very unlikely that the law would be changed after the murder.

They said, ‘The violent death of a little girl is terrible news. It is deeply saddened that apparently two little girls committed this heinous act.

“However, there are currently no plans to lower the existing age limit.”

She added: ‘The question is whether a child can oversee his or her actions and the consequences in a given situation, and whether he or she can adjust his or her behavior accordingly.

‘According to experts in the fields of psychology, pedagogy, criminology and, for the past few years, neuroscience, children under the age of 14 have generally not yet reached the moral and intellectual maturity that is required for this.

Moreover, criminal punishment cannot be considered an appropriate response to the misbehavior of such young children.

‘The principle of human dignity and the responsibility of the state for the education and development of children are important in this respect.’