The testimonies of the two suspects – father and stepmother – in the murder case regarding the murder of a little girl in Rogovka contain various contradictions, as TV3 was told by Chief of Latvian State Police Armands Ruks.
Ruks said he is unable to provide more detailed information, this includes the motive for the murder or whether the girl was killed intentionally or was a result of an accident.
Police have to work and determine what happened. The investigation will take time, he said.
On the 5th of May seven-year-old Justīne Reinikova went missing in Rogovka or Nautrenu parish in Latvia. The little girl had health problems. According to available information, the little girl had allegedly left home at 19:00 in the evening and never returned.
Police and volunteers performed large-scale search and rescue efforts, combing a wide area, but the search gave no results.
Since day one of her disappearance police had several versions to work off, including the possibility of a kidnapping.
The girl’s body was later found buried in the basement of an abandoned house in the middle of the woods several dozen kilometres away from her home. The body had clear signs of injuries.
Two persons were detained under suspicion of committing a crime – the girl’s father and her stepmother.
On the 21st of June Rezekne Court decided to put both of them under arrest. Both are suspected to committing an especially severe crime against a minor.
Police commenced criminal proceedings in accordance with Section 117 of the Criminal Law.
Ruks previously told LTV and TV3 that it is possible the murder may have been committed under the influence of alcohol.
LTV reported that the missing girl’s family was under monitoring from an orphan court. The girl’s father and stepmother and four children had moved to Rogovka approximately six months ago. Because the girl suffered from health problems, she didn’t go to the local school. The girl’s biological mother lives abroad.
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