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CRIME

Woman arrested in Vechta dead baby case

German police have arrested a 24-year-old woman whom they believe to be the mother of a baby found dead in the woods outside Vechta.

Woman arrested in Vechta dead baby case
Police at the crime scene near Vechta. Photo: DPA

Police from the German state of Lower Saxony said they think the baby boy was born to the single woman in November 2007, but aren’t sure if the baby was stillborn or alive when it was abandoned – a question which will have significant legal ramifications. Authorities said advanced decomposition has complicated the autopsy examination.

The corpse of the infant was found on Saturday wrapped in a towel and tucked into a sports bag some 50 metres away from a forest trail. Evidence found at the site led police to the young woman, they said Monday.

The suspect was subject to prolonged questioning about details of the incident and possible motives, police said.

In an unrelated case, police determined this week that a dead baby girl found by hikers in a wooded area near Berlin’s Müggelsee lake was killed shortly after birth. Further investigation is pending.

A German appeals court on Monday also confirmed a 15-year prison sentence handed to a another woman for killing eight of her newborn babies in the country’s worst post-war infanticide case. The court in Frankfurt an der Oder in eastern Germany found that the fact 42-year-old Sabine Hilschenz was an alcoholic did not reduce her accountability for the crime.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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