Danish Marketing Manager Convicted of Murdering Missing Teen

Philip Patrick Westh, a 33-year-old Danish marketing manager, was found guilty on 28 June 2024 of murdering 17-year-old Emilie Meng, who disappeared from Korsør station in July 2016. A unanimous jury at Næstved Court House delivered the conviction, bringing closure to a case that had remained unsolved for nearly eight years.

Westh was arrested in April 2023 following the discovery of a 13-year-old girl bound with plastic strips at his home in Svenstrup near Korsør. This breakthrough led investigators to charge him not only with Meng's murder but also with a separate unsolved crime in Sorø from November 2022. The trial began on 14 May 2024.

During court proceedings, Westh admitted to long-term kidnapping, sexual abuse, illegal coercion, and violence against the 13-year-old victim. He also confessed to assault against a 15-year-old Efterskole student in Sorø. However, he pleaded not guilty to Meng's murder, the attempted murder of the 13-year-old, and the attempted rape and kidnapping charges related to the Sorø incident.

Critical evidence proved decisive in securing the conviction. Investigators recovered a white Hyundai i30—the same model sought in connection with Meng's 2016 disappearance—which Westh had sold in Slovakia that same year. Forensic analysis revealed tape found in his home matched tape used on Meng's face and neck. These physical connections directly linked Westh to the teenager's death.

Forensic examination of Westh's computer uncovered disturbing digital evidence. Authorities discovered videos and images depicting extreme deviant fantasies, including material showing strangling, hanging, and necrophilia—categorized by investigators as "death porn." The device also contained photographs and addresses of real young women, along with approximately 70 pages of written stories describing the abuse of girls in the Sorø area. This documentation revealed the calculated nature of Westh's criminal planning.