Louise Bell breakthrough: man arrested
A 65-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of 10-year-old Louise Bell, who disappeared from her Adelaide bedroom 30 years ago.
Dieter Pfennig appeared in the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court after being arrested yesterday, with police alleging he broke into the girl’s bedroom at her parent’s suburban Hackham West home in January, 1983.
Her body has never been recovered.
Deputy commissioner Grant Stevens says Pfennig’s arrest had followed a comprehensive review of the investigation over the past two years which had identified a number of new lines of inquiry.
He would not be drawn on the nature of any new leads or evidence generated by the review.
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Louise Bell was last seen when she went to bed on 4 January 1983 at her Meadow Way, Hackham West home.
At some point during the night she was abducted from her bedroom.
Her disappearance was declared a major crime.
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As part of the investigation, more than 550 statements were taken and police conducted extensive searches to locate Louise’s remains.
The breakthrough in the 30-year-old case comes after police re-visited the evidence in August last year using advanced DNA and new technology.
A comprehensive review of the investigation identified a number of new lines of inquiry.
Not long after they used radar equipment to search a nearby home where a prime suspect had lived. Announcing today’s arrest Deputy Commissioner Grant Stevens said: “This arrest is the culmination of the relentless work of all those police involved over the years combined with the dedicated efforts of Forensic Science SA personnel.
“Murder investigations never close and police do follow up every line of enquiry in the hope that each case is solved and the justice process completed.
“Police have had on-going contact with the Bell family during the past 30 years and continue that contact today.
“Louise’s family remain devastated by her disappearance and remain hopeful that her remains will, one day, be found.”
– with AAP
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