Romanian prosecutors announced Monday they had found human remains that could belong to a second missing teenager, after a man confessed to abducting and killing two girls in a case that has sparked a public outcry.
Police have been searching for the body of a young woman, Luiza, since suspect Gheorghe Dinca confessed to killing both her and another girl, 15-year-old Alexandra, who had made three desperate emergency calls to police to report her own kidnapping in July.
"A bag containing human remains and ashes was found at a place indicated by the suspect," in a forest near the southern town of Caracal, said the spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office for organised crime, Mihaela Porime.
Dinca, a 65-year-old mechanic from Caracal, admitted to kidnapping and killing both Alexandra and 19-year-old Luiza, who disappeared in April.
Porime said Dinca had claimed the remains found in the forest "was Luiza's body", but added that a DNA test would be needed before prosecutors could confirm the identity of the victim.
Romania has been deeply shaken by the case and both the interior minister and chief of police have resigned amid public outrage and mass protests over claims that police officers failed to respond in time.
On July 25, Alexandra, who was abducted while hitch-hiking home, managed to ring the emergency 112 number three times and give police clues about the location where she was being held by her captor.
She yelled "he's coming, he's coming" before the line was cut, police said.
It took police almost 19 hours to intervene and critics allege that officials failed to take the calls seriously, reacting too late to locate and help save the teen.
Prosecutors said on Saturday that Alexandra's DNA had been found in calcinated human remains at the suspect's home.
Romanian prosecutors announced Monday they had found human remains that could belong to a second missing teenager, after a man confessed to abducting and killing two girls in a case that has sparked a public outcry.
Police have been searching for the body of a young woman, Luiza, since suspect Gheorghe Dinca confessed to killing both her and another girl, 15-year-old Alexandra, who had made three desperate emergency calls to police to report her own kidnapping in July.
“A bag containing human remains and ashes was found at a place indicated by the suspect,” in a forest near the southern town of Caracal, said the spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office for organised crime, Mihaela Porime.
Dinca, a 65-year-old mechanic from Caracal, admitted to kidnapping and killing both Alexandra and 19-year-old Luiza, who disappeared in April.
Porime said Dinca had claimed the remains found in the forest “was Luiza’s body”, but added that a DNA test would be needed before prosecutors could confirm the identity of the victim.
Romania has been deeply shaken by the case and both the interior minister and chief of police have resigned amid public outrage and mass protests over claims that police officers failed to respond in time.
On July 25, Alexandra, who was abducted while hitch-hiking home, managed to ring the emergency 112 number three times and give police clues about the location where she was being held by her captor.
She yelled “he’s coming, he’s coming” before the line was cut, police said.
It took police almost 19 hours to intervene and critics allege that officials failed to take the calls seriously, reacting too late to locate and help save the teen.
Prosecutors said on Saturday that Alexandra’s DNA had been found in calcinated human remains at the suspect’s home.
