German police arrest suspect in boy’s killing, find 2nd body

BERLIN >> A 19-year-old man suspected of killing a 9-year-old boy in the German city of Herne and posting pictures of the victim’s body on the internet was arrested Thursday, police said.

Officers made the arrest after the man called from a fast food stall and reported a fire in a nearby apartment, where police later found another male body, police spokesman Gunnar Wortmann told The Associated Press.

Earlier information about two more bodies being found in the apartment was incorrect, Wortmann said. Preliminary information indicated the second body appeared to be that of an adult, he said.

The suspect, named by police as Marcel Hesse, had been sought since the killing of a neighbor’s child on Monday.

The killing shocked the gritty industrial city of Herne, not least because police said the suspect had boasted about his actions online.

Authorities said Hesse had posted a photo and video of the slain child online to boast about the killing.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s top security official, Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger, said at the time that the images “left even the investigators stunned.”

Hesse was clearly identifiable, standing with bloody hands next to his victim, police said.

A large-scale manhunt was launched, with police using helicopters and sniffer dogs to search the area.

They warned the public not to approach the suspect, saying Hesse knew martial arts and could be armed and dangerous.