Kirkerup has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages. The village was first mentioned in written records in the year 1177 under the name "Kyricorp". It is believed that the name "Kirkerup" comes from the words "Kirke" meaning "church" and "rup" meaning "village" in
Old Danish.
In the 19th century, the village experienced a period of growth due to the construction of the Great Belt Railway, which passed through Kirkerup. The railway provided new opportunities for trade and commerce and brought new residents to the village. Danish rower
Harry Julius Larsen (1915) was from Kirkerup.[1]
On Saturday, 15 April 2023 at about 11:45 am local time, a 13-year-old girl named Filippa disappeared.[2][3] From the first day of her disappearance, police, cooperating with other authorities, used
dogs,
drones, and
helicopters to secure evidence.[4][5][6] A local property was cordoned off on the 16th the following morning.[7][8][9] At 10:57 am, police authorities stated they were working based on the assumption that a crime had been committed.[10][11][12][13] The event drew intensive media coverage in Denmark towards the otherwise relatively unknown village.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Early in the
afternoon, police called for a
press conference to be held at 3:00 pm.[24][25][26]
Briefly delayed,
police inspector Kim Kliver announced that a 32-year-old man, shortly before the conference was to have begun, had been arrested in his house in
Svenstrup,
Korsør in which Filippa was found alive and conscious.[27][28][29][30][31] Her mother wrote, "27 hours of nightmare is over and my dearly beloved Filippa is home",[32][33] in addition to
Danish prime ministerMette Frederiksen, expressing her gratitude.[34][35] Norwegian
NRK journalist Søren Arildsen later described the event as follows: "A country that had held its breath for 27
hours could exhale. Almost all of Denmark had become involved. But primarily the local community".[36] Two other persons had also been arrested but released the same day because of their innocence.[37] Sunday morning, the police had received 600 inquiries from locals about the case[38][39] including
dashcam recordings.[40][41]
On 18 April, the 32-year-old
defendant underwent interrogation (grundlovsforhør) at the
Court of Næstved charged with at 11:46 am on 15 April, having initiated a long-lasting deprivation of liberty as well as committed violence, threats of violence, and several
rapes against the 13-year-old.[42][43] He pleaded "partly guilty" and was
pre-trial detained until 11 May, with his name being prohibited from public release.[43][44] The
judge argued for the detention partly by reason of the probability that other perpetrators could be at large.[45][46] At a press convention held by South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police on 26 April, it was announced that the 32-year-old had been charged for the unsolved
murder of Emile Meng as well as another unsolved crime from
Sorø in November 2022.[47][48][49] In the latter case, a
efterskole student had been threatened with a knife and attempted raped and deprived of her liberty.[50]
^Søgaard, Signe; Bonvang, Laura; Eriksen, Amalie A. (17 April 2023).
"Filippa-sagen: Her er sigtelserne". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
^Eriksen, Af Mette Fleckner • Sune Fischer • Linette K. Jespersen • Torsten Ruus • Amalie A. (26 April 2023).
"32-årig sigtet i Emilie Meng-sag". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 26 April 2023.