Man Sentenced to Life for Murder of 9-Year-Old Valeriia in Germany

A Moldovan man was convicted of killing his ex-partner's daughter in an act of revenge after their breakup.

The Chemnitz court sentenced the 37-year-old Moldovan man to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of 9-year-old Valeriia in June 2024.
The court found the man guilty of killing Valeriia to punish her mother for ending their relationship, deeming the act 'cold-blooded' and motivated by 'base instincts.'
Valeriia was abducted on her way to school and suffocated in a forest near Döbeln, with DNA, surveillance footage, and phone data confirming the perpetrator's guilt.
The court established 'particular severity of guilt,' making early parole after 15 years nearly impossible, though the verdict is not yet final.
Valeriia's father, a soldier in Ukraine, expressed profound grief and called for the maximum punishment, stating no sentence could bring his daughter back.