The most eager had been waiting outside since six o’clock the night before. Under tents and umbrellas while a heavy Danish summer rain washed in over Zealand. It was still cloudy when the court sat in room six in Næstved on the last Friday in June. Many had to wait outside the courthouse in Næstved when the verdict was handed down. There was no room inside. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news Those who had not been given a place on the audience bench inside gathered in smaller groups on the lawn in front of the court building as the clock approached ten o’clock. A verdict was to be handed down in the trial against Philip Westh. Among other things, he was accused of murdering 17-year-old Emilie Meng in 2016, who disappeared after a city trip. That is why news identifies Philip Westh 33-year-old Philip Westh has been found guilty on several charges in one of the most serious criminal cases in Danish criminal history. These are very serious and repeated crimes against three young girls – murder, abduction and rape. The girls, aged 17, 15 and 13, appear to be random victims of this brutal crime. The cases have shaken our neighboring country, and also received a lot of attention in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. This indicates a justified need for information about who is behind it now that the evidence has been assessed in open court proceedings and deemed strong enough for a conviction. At the same time, news’s coverage must make it clear that Westh has denied guilt for the most serious charge, the murder of Emilie Meng, and that the verdict is not legally binding so far. The friends saw her for the last time at the station in the small town of Korsør. Crushing verdict Those who were lucky enough to get a place inside made direct contact with the outdoor groups on SMS. “Convicted of murder” shouted one of those standing outside. “Convicted of kidnapping the 13-year-old,” said another. “Doomed for everything” was the conclusion when the SMS stream stopped. Flowers at Korsør station, the place where Emilie Meng was last seen alive. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news It should be added here that the media in the first few minutes did not realize that the judges thought Philip Westh was not guilty of rape of Emilie Meng, but attempted rape. Later in the day, he was also convicted of attempted deprivation of liberty and rape of a 15-year-old in 2022. And abduction, rape and attempted murder of a 13-year-old last year. In addition to possession of child abuse material and breach of the Weapons Act. A crushing sentence: life imprisonment. Philip Westh signed with his defense attorney Karina Skou in courtroom 6 in the Court in Næstved. Illustration: Reuters Outside the courtroom in Næstved, people stood around each other. They wept with relief. Of course I let people dry their tears before I cautiously approached one of them. “Excuse me, I come from Norwegian TV … Do you know any of the victims?” She looked at me seriously and shook her head as she sniffed. “No,” she said in a very matter-of-fact way. “I was there looking for Emilie in 2016” “So you’re from Korsør then?” “No no. I’m from Kalundborg” Local involvement That conversation really says a lot about the involvement in this matter. The woman talked about how people from the whole region lined up in 2016. Volunteers participated very actively in the search for Emilie Meng in 2016 Photo: Private They organized their own search actions. They launched searches. The case triggered strong reactions far beyond Korsør’s city limits. And when Emilie Meng was found dead in a small lake in a wooded area a good distance away, it was understood that a murderer was on the loose in the area. Emilie Meng’s disappearance received a lot of attention. The turmoil that has characterized the small towns in south-west Zealand has been pervasive. As for the three women in their mid-20s who sat slightly slouched on a bench at Korsør station and waited for the train on the same day as the verdict. They went to school with Emilie Meng in the neighboring town of Slagelse when she disappeared. Now you can say that advice such as not walking home alone from the city, or saying where you are going and when you will be home, is good advice for most people. But in Korsør, this, as these young women said, felt like bloody seriousness. Anyone could be the killer’s next victim, many have thought. Now he has been caught and sentenced. But there is still a black cloud of uncertainty over Korsør. Little doubt If you look at the other two cases, the 13-year-old in Kirkerup and the 15-year-old in Sorø, the evidence appears quite clear. The victims have identified the perpetrator. The technical tracks are fresh and numerous. In the case of the thirteen-year-old who was hit, abducted, raped and tried to kill last year, the evidence against Westh is very clear. He has also admitted much of what he is accused of in this case. Photo: Claus Bech / NTB But it is the verdict for the murder of Emilie Meng that separates Philip Westh from seven or eight years in prison and an indefinite life sentence, which he received in the district court. And then we have to talk about the police mistakes in 2016. Mistakes so fatal that in the extreme they can change the outcome of the case when the appeal process is finished. Surveillance videos from the area were taken in to a small extent. Private cameras were not mapped until it was too late and the videos had been deleted (something you are obliged to do after 30 days for privacy reasons). Many witnesses who were in the area were interviewed so late that they had forgotten details – or they were never called in. For four days, the police insisted that Emilie Meng had run away voluntarily. She had heartbreak, it was said. Surveillance videos from Slagelse, where she was out with her friends, were not collected. Police alleged her Facebook was active. It wasn’t. The police did not use protective equipment when they handled a bag of clothes that belonged to Emilie Meng and was found with her. Emilie Meng was found in Regnemark’s Bakke by a hiker on Christmas Eve 2016. Photo: Scanpix Danmark / NTB scanpix The breakthrough The consequence is that there are no witnesses or videos that place Philip Westh at or near Korsør station at the time Emilie Meng went missing. Although British experts believe you can make out a car of the same brand that Westh owned in 2016, the Hyundai i30 is quite an ordinary car. As is well known, the breakthrough in the case came when the police found the 13-year-old who disappeared in Kirkerup in 2023. It was Philip Westh who had taken her. To make a long story short: In his house they found, among other things, a roll of tape, similar to the one Emilie Meng had around her neck when she was found. Her DNA is also on the roll. Police Inspector Kim Kliver and Deputy Police Inspector Rune Nilsson when they announced the charge against Westh at a press conference. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / NTB/Ritzau The Tape evidence is central to the verdict. Westh’s explanation is that he has a habit of picking up things he finds in nature, but many years later does not remember exactly where and when he found this tape. Is it an unlikely explanation? That will be up to the High Court to assess. Collected star biologist There is also DNA on Emilie Meng’s trousers. At first the analysts found no trace of it. But then the world-renowned biologist Eske Willerslev was engaged by the police. He and his people found that there was DNA from Philip Westh, or a close male relative of his, on the pants. This method of extracting DNA evidence has not been used in a Danish court case before. Despite protests from Westh’s defense attorney, the evidence became part of the verdict. Can the High Court see it differently? The police investigated Philip Westh’s residence for a long time after he was arrested. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news A double life So one should notice that Philip Westh was convicted of attempted rape and deprivation of liberty of Emilie Meng. The court held that it could not be proved that he fulfilled it. The next court is the Eastern Landsret. Of course, there is nothing to suggest that Philip Westh will leave there as a free man. But the same thing that was the great moment of tension in Næstved will also be in the Eastern District Court in Copenhagen: Does the evidence hold up in the Meng case? In dubio pro reo – as it is called in Latin. The defendant shall be given the benefit of the doubt. Philip Westh has been convicted of a number of very serious criminal matters, but the sentence is not yet legally binding. Photo: NTB There is no doubt that the man who kept up the outward facade lived a double life, with images and videos of child abuse, deviant fantasies and attractions. There is no doubt that he has committed cruel acts against young girls for which he will be punished. He has also confessed to something. But can it be ruled out that Philip Westh happened to find a roll of tape that was used by another killer? Is the DNA trace on the trousers usable in Danish law? It will be up to the judges to decide. The videos and witness observations, which the prosecution would probably like to have as their main weapon, no longer exist. Maybe they did once. But the police arrived too late. Published 07/07/2024, at 14.01
ttn-69
Can the evidence in the Emilie Meng case hold up in the appeal case against Philip Westh – news Urix – Utenriksnyheter og -documentarer
