Philip Patrick Westh, a 32-year-old marketing manager from Korsør, Denmark, was found guilty in June 2024 of murdering 17-year-old Emilie Meng in 2016—a case that remained unsolved for nearly a decade until advances in DNA technology and forensic investigation finally brought the perpetrator to justice.
Emilie Meng disappeared in 2016, and her body was discovered bearing clear signs of violence: tape wrapped around her face and neck. Despite initial efforts to identify her killer, the investigation stalled. Police had collected DNA samples from 1,450 individuals in 2016, including Westh, but the victim's DNA sample proved too degraded at the time to yield conclusive matches.
The breakthrough came years later. When Westh was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of other crimes, investigators seized a white Hyundai i30 he had sold to a Slovak family in 2016—the same vehicle model that had been a key lead in Meng's original murder investigation. More critically, tape discovered at Westh's residence in 2023 matched the tape found on Meng's face and neck. DNA evidence subsequently connected Westh definitively to the teenager's death.
Westh's arrest revealed a pattern of escalating violence against minors. In April 2023, a 13-year-old girl was discovered at his residence, bound with plastic strips. He admitted in court to long-term kidnapping, an illegal sexual relationship with the child, coercion, and violence. In November 2022, he had also targeted a 15-year-old Efterskole (secondary school) student in Sorø, attempting to abduct and assault her.
Computers seized from Westh's home contained thousands of videos and images depicting extreme sexual violence. His digital collection included categories such as death pornography, necrophilia, drowning, hanging, and sexual content involving minors—a disturbing archive that illustrated the depth of his depravity.
Westh's trial commenced on 14 May 2024 at Næstved Court House. While he admitted to the crimes against the minors—kidnapping, sexual abuse, and assault—he pleaded not guilty to murdering Emilie Meng and to the attempted murder and rape of the 15-year-old girl in Sorø.
On the murder charge, however, the jury was unanimous. In June 2024, a jury at Næstved Court found Westh guilty of Emilie Meng's murder, the abduction and rape of the 13-year-old girl, and the assault and attempted rape of the 15-year-old. The judge, characterizing the crimes as marked by "special recklessness and planning," sentenced him to life imprisonment—Denmark's most severe penalty.
