The Emilie Meng Case: Denmark's Unsolved Murder

On the early morning of July 10, 2016, seventeen-year-old Emilie Anine Skovgaard Meng walked alone from Korsør railway station toward her home in the small Danish town of Korsør. She had arrived at the station at 4:00 a.m. after a night out in nearby Slagelse with friends. She never made it home.

Emilie was scheduled to sing at a local church at 9:30 a.m. that same morning. When she failed to appear, alarm bells rang immediately. What followed was one of Denmark's most intensive missing-person investigations—168 days of searching by police and volunteers who plastered missing-person posters across the country.

On December 24, 2016, Emilie's body was found in Regnemarks Bakke, a rural area in Borup, Køge Municipality. A post-mortem examination revealed she had been strangled.

In April 2024, a breakthrough came. A 32-year-old man was arraigned at Næstved Court on charges related to Emilie's death. The case revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of violence. The defendant admitted to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl over an extended period, sexually abusing her, and holding her captive with plastic strips at his residence. He also faced charges of illegal coercion and violence against that child, as well as possession of child pornography.

Additionally, he was charged in connection with the attempted kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl at an efterskole (a type of Danish boarding school) in Sorø.

However, on the most serious charges—the murder of Emilie Meng and the attempted murder of the 13-year-old—he pleaded not guilty. The main trial began on May 14, 2024, at Næstved Court House.

The case has gripped Denmark, raising questions about predatory behavior, police response, and the vulnerabilities of young women traveling alone late at night. Emilie's case represents the kind of unsolved or long-unsolved mystery that captures public attention and prompts systemic reflection.