Killed five-year-old in Pankow - found knife is murder weapon

The knife found after the violent death of a five-year-old girl in Berlin-Pankow is the murder weapon. This was announced by a spokeswoman for the Berlin public prosecutor's office on Monday on request. The spokeswoman did not provide any further information about the type of knife or whether DNA traces of the suspect were found on it.

This is currently not possible because it could potentially jeopardize the investigation, it said. The spokeswoman also did not provide any information on whether there is now evidence of a motive for the crime.

The five-year-old was reported missing on February 21 and was found lifeless in a bush in the Bürgerpark in Pankow a few hours later. Her body had multiple knife wounds. The child died in the hospital. Police arrested a 19-year-old, a friend of Anissa's family.

The man is in custody. A judge issued an arrest warrant for manslaughter. According to the public prosecutor's office, the young man with German and Turkish nationality has not yet commented on the allegations.

According to witnesses, the 19-year-old should now take care of the girl and her three younger siblings in a playground near the park. From there he left with the five-year-old - allegedly because the child had to go to the toilet. A little later the man came back alone. He said he lost the child.