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Romania’s Police Chief Fired After Officers Took 19 Hours to Respond to Kidnapped Girl’s Calls Romania’s Police Chief Fired After Officers Took 19 Hours to Respond to Kidnapped Girl’s Calls
(about 5 hours later)
Romania’s police chief and two county officials have been fired after the authorities took 19 hours to respond to the emergency calls of a kidnapped 15-year-old girl who later died, apparently at the hands of her captor. BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s national police chief and two county officials have been fired after the authorities took 19 hours to respond to the emergency calls of a kidnapped 15-year-old girl who has disappeared and is feared dead.
The case sparked national outrage, with hundreds of people gathering outside the suspect’s house to protest on Friday. Romania’s president and prime minister have called for an analysis of the response and punishment of those responsible. The case set off national outrage, with hundreds of people gathering outside the suspect’s house to protest on Friday. Romania’s president and prime minister have called for an analysis of the response and punishment of those responsible.
Why the authorities waited “must be clarified,” the interim general prosecutor, Bogdan Licu, told the private television station Antena3. “A girl who by all indications could have been saved has died.” The teenager called the European emergency services three times on Thursday morning, telling the operators that she had been kidnapped by a man who picked her up as she was hitchhiking back from a nearby town.
Interior Minister Nicolae Moga said that on Friday that he fired Police Chief Ioan Buda;, the Olt County prefect, Petre Neacsu; and the Olt County police chief, Cristian Voiculescuc, over the case in the southern town of Caracal. “He’s coming, he’s coming,” were the girl’s last words before the call ended abruptly, Police Chief Ioan Buda told reporters.
A 65-year-old mechanic, Gheorghe Dinca, is suspected of killing the teenager, who has not been identified. She called the European emergency number, 112, three times for help Thursday morning, according to the emergency phone center, officials said. It wasn’t until 19 hours later that the police entered the property in the southwestern town of Caracal where she was believed to have been held. The police found what appeared to be fragments of human bones in a barrel at the property, as well as pieces of clothing and jewelry, but no body.
The police said they did not enter Mr. Dinca’s house until 19 hours after the teenager called, saying the authorities had struggled to locate the source of the calls. They also secured a search warrant even though it was not legally necessary. The authorities arrested a 66-year-old mechanic, Gheorghe Dinca, early on Saturday on suspicion of juvenile trafficking and rape. A court was expected to place him under preliminary confinement for up to 30 days.
After getting the warrant, they waited for hours to enter the premises. Interior Minister Nicolae Moga said on Friday that he had fired Chief Buda; the Olt County prefect, Petre Neacsu; and the Olt County police chief, Cristian Voiculescuc, over the case.
In the house, the police found what appeared to be human remains in a barrel and jewelry. The authorities said they suspected the remains belong to the 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old from a nearby village who was reported missing in April. A spokesman for the Romanian police did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The authorities have said that the police initially struggled to locate the source of the emergency calls, but once they arrived at the property, they said, officers waited for a search warrant, letting several more hours pass before they entered the building.
Forensics analysts were working to identify the remains. The police maintained that they weren’t allowed to enter until after 6 a.m., under instruction from prosecutors. Chief Buda, however, later acknowledged that the officers could have taken other measures to enter.
In a Facebook post, a man identified as the victim’s uncle, Alexandru Cumpanasu, wrote that his niece “may have been killed while police and prosecutors ‘guarded’ the criminal” and that, if so, she had been effectively “killed by the state she trusted by calling 112.”
Questions have also arisen over the disappearance of another local teenager who has been missing since April. The 18-year-old girl disappeared under similar circumstances, having left home and failed to return after apparently hitching a ride.
On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Dinca’s court-appointed lawyer, Alexandru Bogdan, told reporters that his client told prosecutors that he did know the girls and that he was not guilty.
He acknowledged that the kidnapped girl’s calls appeared to have been made from Mr. Dinca’s phone.
“As far as I can see, yes, the call was made on the phone,” Mr. Bogdan said, adding that his client “did not explain this.”
On Friday evening, hundreds of people gathered outside the suspect’s home, demanding justice as well as punishment for those responsible for the delays in reaching the girl.
President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy” and was “revolted by the fact that, due to some malfunctions, the responsible authorities have failed to save a teenage girl who has lost her life under dramatic conditions.”
He added that he would request a full investigation into how each state institution acted in the case.
Romania’s prime minister, Viorica Dancila, said on Saturday that she was considering a referendum on harsher penalties for crimes like murder, rape and pedophilia in the wake of the case.
Romania’s Special Section for Investigating Magistrates also announced that it was starting its own inquiry into prosecutors’ handling of the case.