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Agence France-Presse

A man in Romania has admitted to raping and killing two teenage girls, including a 15-year-old whose disappearance last week shook the country and claimed the scalp of the police chief.
The suspect, named as 65-year-old Gheorghe Dinca, “has confessed his crimes”, lawyer Alexandru Bogdan was quoted as saying by Agerpres news agency.
After initially refusing to answer any questions, Dinca eventually caved and admitted to the murders of Alexandra Macesanu who vanished on Wednesday and 18-year-old Luiza Melencu, missing since April.
Dinca was taken into custody Saturday after investigators searching his home and garden found human remains and jewellery belonging to a girl who went missing on Wednesday.
Alexandra was snatched as she tried to hitch-hike home to Dobrosloveni in southern Romania.

On Thursday morning, the girl managed to ring the emergency number 112 three times and give clues to police about the place she was being held by a car driver who had picked her up.
She yelled “he is coming, he is coming” before the line was cut, police said.
The case has sparked outcry in Romania, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of Bucharest on Saturday evening. Critics allege that officials failed to take the alert seriously and finally reacted too late to locate and help save the teen.
Interior Minister Nicolae Moga announced late on Friday that he had sacked police chief Ioan Buda. Four other officials were also forced to resign.
Two American tourists confess to stabbing Italian policeman to death in Rome
Centre-right President Klaus Iohannis – who is frequently at loggerheads with the ruling Social Democrats – said the “resignations of all those who mishandled this case which had such dramatic consequences are obligatory”.
Luiza disappeared three months ago in the same area under similar circumstances. Her parents this week accused police of also botching the case.

They said one official allegedly implied their daughter may have run off “with her Prince Charming” when they filed their report in April.
In Alexandra’s case, officers had searched three buildings before they finally found the house where she had been held, more than 12 hours after her phone calls.
Police then sought a search warrant, which is not required in emergencies, and waited till dawn to enter the house – 19 hours after Alexandra’s last call.
Thousands of protesters rallied outside the interior ministry in Bucharest on Saturday evening, placing flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial.
Chanting “assassins” and “incompetence”, the demonstrators demanded that Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and her cabinet step down.
Critics have accused her government of weakening the criminal justice system with controversial reforms also heavily denounced by Brussels.
Romania’s prime minister said Saturday she was considering a referendum on harsher penalties for crimes like murder, rape and paedophilia in the wake of the rape and killings.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Crime

Police in Romania under fire after chilling murders of two teenage girls shock nation

Alexandra Macesanu, 15, who vanished on Wednesday in Romania. She is presumed dead after a man admitted killing her and another teenager.

Police officers escort Gheorghe Dinca, the suspect in the case of rape and murder of a 15 year-old girl, from a court in Craiova, southern Romania, Saturday, July 27, 2019. Thousands of people took part Saturday evening in Bucharest in a march protesting the handling of the case, blaming Romanian officials for negligence, incompetence and a lack of empathy. (AP Photo/Bogdan Danescu)

Luiza Melencu, 18, who was reported missing in April in Romania. She is presumed dead after a man admitted killing her and another teen.

Two American tourists confess to stabbing Italian policeman to death in Rome

Flowers placed at the site, where a police officer was stabbed to death in Rome. Photo: EPA-EFE

epa07741618 Carabinieri officer and forensic police work a crime scene where Vice Brigadier of Carabinieri Mario Cerciello Rega was shoot dead by robbers last night in via Pietro Cossa, Rome, Italy, 26 July 2019. Two men thought to be of African origins are being sought in connection with the stabbing to death over the night between Thursday and Friday of an on-duty Carabiniere police officer in the Italian capital. EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI

In this photo released by Carabinieri, is portrayed officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed to death in Rome early Friday, July 26, 2019. Italian police said Saturday that two 19-year-old American tourists have confessed to fatally stabbing the Italian paramilitary policeman who was investigating the theft of a bag with a cellphone.

Two missing Canadian teens now suspected in murder of tourists Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese

Police released surveillance photos of the two in Saskatchewan. Photo: AFP

epa07734457 An undated handout photo made available by the New South Wales (NSW) Police on 23 July 2019 shows Lucas Fowler (L) and his girlfriend Chynna Deese, who were found dead near their 1986 blue Chevrolet minivan on the side of the Alaska Highway, near Liard Hot Springs, in northern British Columbia, Canada on 15 July 2019. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who are asking for public assistance in identifying a man whom investigators wish to speak with, confirmed on 22 July that two travelers, Chynna Deese, 24, and Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, were the victims of gun violence. EPA-EFE/NSW POLICE HANDOUT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A video grab from CCTV footage taken on July 13, 2019 released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on July 23, 2019 shows murder victims Lucas Fowler, 23, and Chynna Deese, 24, at a gas station in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. - Police in Canada on Tuesday named two suspects wanted in connection with three murders, including the killings of an American woman and Australian man whose bodies were found in rural British Columbia. (Photo by - / ALBERTA RCMP / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT "Royal Canadian Mounted Police" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS.

Security camera images recorded in Saskatchewan of Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are displayed as RCMP Assistant Commissioner Kevin Hackett speaks during a news conference in Surrey, British Columbia, on Tuesday. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

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A mechanic has been detained pending an investigation into the death of 15-year-old Alexandra Macesanu, 15, who was last seen last week
The man has admitted to also murdering Luiza Melencu, 18, who was reported missing in April


Alexandria Macesanu called the European emergency number 112 three times, saying she had been kidnapped by a man while hitchhiking to her home village from nearby Caracal.


Sexual harassment and assault