(JTA) — A Jewish 14-year-old girl in Germany who had been missing since May was found dead.
The girl, identified as by police as Susanna Maria Feldman, was found Wednesday outside Wiesbaden, a city in western Germany. On Thursday, police said two male asylum seekers were detained in connection to her rape and murder. One was later released.
But a 20-year-old Iraqi identified as Ali Bashar is still being sought, Weisbaden police said. He is suspected of killing the girl on May 22, when she went missing. Police said they believe she had been strangled to death.
Some media reported that the 20-year-old suspect was dating the girl, while others said she was romantically involved with his younger brother. Police said on Thursday that Ali Bashar had left the country with his family under false names, fleeing to Iraq. Both Bashar and the released man reportedly had been living in refugee shelters..
The Central Council of Jews in Germany confirmed that the girl was a member of the Jewish community of Mainz, a city near Wiesbaden.
“A young life has been put in a cruel way. Our deep compassion applies to relatives and friends,” the group said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
“A young life has been cruelly cut short. Our deepest sympathy goes to her relatives and friends,” the group said in a press statement on Thursday. The Council added that “premature conclusions or speculation [about the case] are out of the question.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
