The Autopsy Results Have Shown How Fabian (8) Died

Güstrow - It's the news that the whole of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has been shaking with. It is now certain: little Fabian L. (†8) from Güstrow died a violent death. Following the autopsy, the public prosecutor's office in Rostock confirmed that the boy was the victim of a violent crime.

Hope gave way to terrible certainty

Fabian had disappeared without a trace since Friday last week. His mother had reported him missing that evening after he had not come home as agreed. What followed was one of the biggest search operations in the region in recent years: police, firefighters and hundreds of volunteers searched for the boy for days.

Every possible area around Güstrow was combed with dogs, drones and posters. One lead briefly led to a forest near Zehna, but Fabian's trail was lost again there. On Monday, there was a glimmer of hope - and at the same time a harbinger of horror: several cadaver sniffer dogs hit the shore of the island lake. Divers searched the water for hours, but found nothing.

A terrible find

On Tuesday morning, a walker finally discovered a child's body in a remote field near Klein Upahl, around 15 kilometers from Fabian's home . She immediately alerted the police. On the same day, the investigators cordoned off the area and began securing evidence.

The sad certainty came only a little later: according to initial findings, it was most likely the missing eight-year-old. On Wednesday, relatives were supposed to identify the boy, but they were unable to do so. According to Harald Nowak, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, the relatives are said to have refused to carry out the identification themselves for understandable reasons. Now a DNA test is to bring final clarity - the result is expected on Friday .

According to the authorities, traces found on the body suggest that the boy was the victim of a violent crime. The investigators do not want to publish any further details about the exact injuries or the circumstances of the death at present for reasons of investigative tactics.

Was this the last time Fabian was seen here?

The bus stop on Eisenbahnstraße was repeatedly mentioned in the media. Fabian (†8) may have last been seen here, between a small kebab restaurant and a pile of leaves on the sidewalk - on the Friday he disappeared without a trace.

Snack bar owner Ahmet Bilbaj (55) remembers that afternoon well. A boy he thought was Fabian was playing in the autumn leaves outside his store, he says. "I'm not quite sure what time it was. But it was definitely still light," says Bilbaj.

He went outside and gave the boy a friendly warning for spreading the leaves on the sidewalk with his feet. A woman was sitting on the bench at the bus stop with two little girls. "I thought that was his mother. I told him to go to his mom," reports the man. It was only later that he realized that the boy obviously didn't belong to the woman.

A few minutes later, a blue bus pulled up. When Bilbaj looked out again, the boy had disappeared.

The trail disappears at the bus stop

The kebab shop is only a ten-minute walk from Fabian's home - and just a few minutes from Güstrow's central bus station. This is exactly where the police sniffer dogs were able to follow Fabian's trail. Then it got lost - right near Eisenbahnstraße.

It is not yet clear whether the boy actually boarded a bus here. But the possibility is obvious. One of the lines that stops at this bus stop travels to Zehna in just 15 minutes. Fabian's father lives there.

In fact, the police checked early on whether Fabian could have been on the bus. According to media reports, a rescue dog was even sent to a bus stop near his father's home.

Police investigating at full speed

Since the gruesome discovery, a large team of investigators has been working around the clock to solve the case. Sniffer dogs were again deployed and the site was examined down to the smallest detail. There is still no suspect, but the officers are checking all traces.

Güstrow was deeply shocked by the news of Fabian's death. Many people laid candles and stuffed animals in front of the church - signs of silent mourning and sympathy for the family.

While the investigation continues, an entire town remains united in worry and hope: that the perpetrator will be found and Fabian will face justice.