# Kirkerup

Kirkerup is a village in Slagelse Municipality in the Zealand Region of Denmark. Kirkerup parish has a population of 344 people and is situated on the western part of the island of Zealand. The village is the main village in the parish of Kirkerup Sogn where the manor house Gyldenholm is located. The village lies three km from the town of Sørbymagle and 10 km from the main town of the municipality, Slagelse. In 2023, the town was the crime scene of a child abduction.

## History

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, as was Olaf Henriksen, the only Major League Baseball player from Denmark.

### 2023 Kirkerup child abduction

On Saturday, 15 April 2023 at about 11:45 am local time, a 13-year-old girl named Filippa disappeared. From the first day of her disappearance, police, cooperating with other authorities, used dogs, drones, and helicopters to secure evidence. A local property was cordoned off on the 16th the following morning. At 10:57 am, police authorities stated they were working based on the assumption that a crime had been committed. The event drew intensive media coverage in Denmark towards the otherwise relatively unknown village. Early in the afternoon, police called for a press conference to be held at 3:00 pm.
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. Her mother wrote, "27 hours of nightmare is over and my dearly beloved Filippa is home", in addition to Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, expressing her gratitude. 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". Two other persons had also been arrested but released the same day because of their innocence. Sunday morning, the police had received 600 inquiries from locals about the case including dashcam recordings.
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. He pleaded "partly guilty" and was pre-trial detained until 11 May, with his name being prohibited from public release. The judge argued for the detention partly by reason of the probability that other perpetrators could be at large. 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. In the latter case, a efterskole student had been threatened with a knife and attempted raped and deprived of her liberty.