Two youths named as suspects in killing Narva schoolgirl in December

Photo: politsei/Ilja Smirnov

A young man born in 1997 is suspected of killing a schoolgirl in the northeastern city of Narva in December 2015 and another youth of the same age, of concealing the crime.

The Viru district prosecutor's office last week declared a 1997-born youth suspect in killing the 14-year-old schoolgirl by the name of Darja and another youth of concealing the girl's murder.

There were no signs of violence on the body, so a forensic examination was conducted, head of the crime squad of the East prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board Tarvo Kruup said at a news conference in Narva on Monday.

According to chief prosecutor at the Viru prosecutor's office, Margus Gross, the girl died from suffocation. The victim and the suspects, both residents of Narva, were acquainted, he added.

The youth suspected of killing the girl is currently serving a sentence for robbery. The other youth has previously been punished for physical abuse and he has been prohibited from leaving his residence.

Kruup said it became clear to policemen right at the start of the investigation that it was not a case of falling victim by chance. The main version of the investigation was that precisely those two youths were involved in Darja's death. Both were detained already in December as suspects, but since the findings of the forensic examination were not yet in the police lacked evidence and they had to be released. During the investigation other versions were examined as well, but they were eventually discarded.

Darja was not taken by force to the place where she was murdered, Gross said. Nor did the investigation find a connection between the girl's death and alcohol or narcotics.

Darja, a 14-year-old student at Kreenholm Secondary School in Narva, went missing on Dec. 4, 2015. Her body was found five days later in a distant part of the Pahklimae health trail.