Louise Bell's accused murderer protests innocence in chilling video
A convicted child killer on trial for the murder of Louise Bell has protested his innocence in a chilling police video, which has been released today.
When Dieter Pfennig was questioned over the historic murder of 10-year-old Louise Bell back in 2011, he told detectives he was in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
“I’m doing time for something I haven't done, because you're probably aware I was convicted of a murder, kidnap and murder of Michael Black and I stood, I don't know how I got convicted for something I haven't done,” Mr Pfennig says in the video.
“I don't' even understand what happened there, I have seen in that process how things can get twisted around and misused in that process. Need to see a lawyer before something gets twisted around.”
Detective Anthony van der Stelt travelled to Port Lincoln prison in 2011 to question Mr Pfennig, nearly three decades after Louise disappeared from her Hackham West home in January 1983.
Detective van der Stelt told the court Mr Pfennig became a suspect in the Louise Bell case seven years after the girl disappeared, when he was arrested for the murder of Murray Bridge school boy Michael Black.
He was already serving at least 37 years for murder, at the time of their interview.
Mr Pfennig was then arrested in 2013 after prosecutors allegedly found his DNA on Louise Bell’s pajama top by using cutting edge forensic technology.
The compilation of police interview videos released today also shows Mr Pfennig providing a DNA sample for the national database in 2003.
He was at ease as his mouth was swabbed and even joked his DNA was going to be tobacco.
The former science teacher then asks a question about DNA.
“The mouth is actually full of bacteria. How do you tell the difference between the bacterial DNA and my DNA?”
The court also released some short stories Mr Pfennig has written in jail.
