Injuries keep murder suspect from attending initial hearing

Suspected killer of 39-year-old Judy Meiniche Simonsen remains in a coma after car crash

The man suspected of killing of social worker Judy Meiniche Simonsen was ordered to be held in custody until March 9 by a court in Viborg today.

The suspect, who has been identified as 39-year-old Kristian Heilmann, did not appear in court due to serious injuries he sustained yesterday during a car chase with police. Heilmann, while attempting to escape from police, crashed his car into a group of trees and is currently in a coma at Aarhus Hospital.

Due to his condition, the suspect has not been able to meet with a lawyer or form any response to his charges.

Heilmann will face charges of killing Simonsen, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds. She was found naked, leading to the belief that she had also been raped. Prosecutor Pia Koudahl also alluded to forensic evidence corroborating the theory that she had been raped.

Heilmann will also face charges on two counts of auto theft, including the one he used in ThursdayÂ’s car chase.

Heilmann was listed as still being in a coma after the crash but in stable condition. He has several fractures in his legs, chest and left arm as well as unspecified internal injuries.

He must be brought before a judge to be presented with the charges against him within 24 hours after doctors declare him fit to do so.

Simonsen was a social worker at the Blåkærgård group home in Viborg, where Heilmann lived. Heilmann and Simonsen left the facility Tuesday afternoon, apparently to take a walk in a nearby nature area, but never returned.

That set off a manhunt for the suspect, who was then spotted Thursday morning and apprehended after his attempt to flee police ended in a car crash.

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