German police hold suspected child killer 01/03/2007 00:00

1 March 2007

Leipzig, Germany (dpa) - A convicted sex offender suspected of raping and killing a nine-year-old boy was arrested early Thursday after throwing himself in front of a tram, police said.

Uwe Kolbig, 43, was under police guard at a hospital in the eastern German city of Leipzig. Police said he suffered serious injuries, but was out of danger.

Some 130 police officers had taken part in a manhunt for Kolbig, who was pictured by a security camera sitting on a tram with his smiling victim just hours before the boy was killed.

Mitja Hoffman's body was found on Saturday in an allotment hut rented by Kolbig on the outskirts of Leipzig. The place where Kolbig tried to kill himself was just 200 metres away, police said.

Police believe Kolbig befriended the youngster on the tram. It was the first time his parents had let the boy travel home from his school in Leipzig without them.

Kolbig, has five convictions for sex offences, some dating back 25 years. He was jailed for two years for paedophilia in 1998.

DPA

Subject: German news