Police inspector regrets delay in focusing on suspect in Kirkerup case

The chief police inspector for South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police has expressed regret that investigators were not quicker to focus on the perpetrator in the 2023 disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, according to a report by Danish public broadcaster DR.

Lars Harvest made the comments to Radio IIII, following a report by the newspaper Berlingske that more than five hours passed between Philip Patrick Westh being identified as a suspect and his eventual arrest in what has become known as the Kirkerup case.

“I would have wished that we had been significantly faster at identifying the video footage that led to the individual. And I wish we had not been led down many wrong paths, including the circumstances that led us to arrest, suspect, and charge two other people,” Harvest told the radio station. “Looking back, one can certainly say that was a mistake. I do not think you can carry out an investigation without mistakes happening.”

In April 2023, Philip Patrick Westh deliberately drove into a 13-year-old girl who had just been delivering newspapers in Slagelse. He abducted her and subjected her to severe and degrading abuse over 27 hours. In June 2024, the court in Næstved sentenced him to life imprisonment for unlawful detention, rape, and attempted murder of the 13-year-old, as well as for the killing of 17-year-old Emilie Meng, who disappeared in 2016, and an assault on a 15-year-old student.

South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police confirmed to Berlingske that Westh was identified as a possible suspect at around 9:30 in the morning, based on surveillance footage showing his car passing a property 656 metres from the crime scene three times during the same period the girl was in the area. He was not arrested until 14:48 that afternoon. Police have also stated that other possible suspects were under consideration before the arrest was made.

Harvest told Radio IIII that police have drawn lessons from the Kirkerup investigation, citing challenges in handling a large volume of tip-offs in a short space of time, as well as difficulties in securing video footage that ultimately proved crucial in identifying the perpetrator.