EXCLUSIVE – Revealed: First photo of 10-year-old girl raped by a burglar in a German nursing home and murdered by an 11-year-old boy – her father reveals she had asked to be returned to her family

This is the first picture of the ten-year-old girl whose murder in a children’s home, allegedly by a roommate, shocked Germany.

The picture was taken when little Lena’s father spoke about his loss for the first time.

Twelve hours after her death, Lena was found strangled in the boy’s room by facility staff, amazingly after being raped by an opportunistic burglar who broke in through an open bathroom window.

Speaking to MailOnline, Lena’s father, who only wanted to be named as Werner, expressed his outrage at how father-of-two Daniel Troger, 25, had seemingly managed to break in without any problem.

And he criticized authorities for allowing the boy, who had a history of violence and attacked other residents with a baseball bat, to remain at the facility.

The picture of Lena was taken when little Lena’s father spoke about his loss for the first time

Lena’s father expressed outrage at how father-of-two Daniel Troger, 25, (pictured) had seemingly managed to break in without any problem

Germany is reeling from the atrocity that occurred in April at the St. Josef children’s home in the picturesque Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, 90 minutes north of Nuremberg.

Speaking to MailOnline at his home in the village of Mantel, officer Werner, who has been on sick leave since his daughter’s death, said: “I just don’t understand how this can happen.” How could this man break into the house and attack my daughter?

“The place should be safe. What did the employees do that evening? Why was the window left open? The children were supposed to be safe there, but that was clearly not the case.

“But the other big question is, why was that boy in there in the first place? I read that he has been violent there in the past and has attacked other children. So why was he there and not in a proper facility with trained staff?

“There is so much more that the police and authorities should tell me, but they don’t.” “I feel like I’m in the dark here and my daughter is the victim.”

Lena, a talented musician, swimmer and gymnast, had been in the house since November following a custody battle between Werner and his former wife Regina, to whom he was married for 12 years.

Their daughter had been temporarily placed in the home, but Werner told MailOnline he had successfully applied for her to go on holiday with him to the Canary Islands over this year’s Easter holidays.

Werner said: “The day before she was supposed to come out, they said I couldn’t take her with me and so she had to stay there.”

“I still don’t know why they said that, but if she had been allowed to come with me like she originally said, she would still be here. “That’s why I’m so angry.”

Germany is reeling from the atrocity that occurred in April at the St. Josef children’s home in the picturesque Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, 90 minutes north of Nuremberg

Lena’s father’s house in Mantel, Germany

Werner added: “I have spoken to the police many times and seen that this man has been accused of sexually assaulting my daughter and the boy killed her, but he is too young to stand trial.”

“Lena hated it in that house.” She always cried about it when I saw her and she said she wanted to be with either me or my ex-wife, but they wouldn’t let it.

“The best solution would have been for her to stay with one of us. If that had happened she would have still been alive, that’s why I’m so angry.”

“I was allowed to see her once a month for two hours, my wife was too, and every time I saw Lena she cried that she didn’t want to be here.”

“She said one of the other kids was giving her trouble and picking on her. I can only assume it was this 11-year-old boy.” “We wanted joint custody but the court didn’t give it to us – I still don’t know why.”

When asked to describe Lena, Werner blinked back tears and said, “How can I have one memory of her?” I have many memories of her, all wonderful, all good. She was my first and only child, I loved her very much.

“She was a good girl. She didn’t deserve this and like every other girl, she had dreams about when she would grow up. She could swim well; She was a musician and played the piano and she loved playing the piano and drums.

“She loved to go horse riding and we spent many happy times together and that’s all I remember.”

Werner added: “The police say the case is now closed because the boy cannot be tried because he is under 14 and this other man will be tried, but for me the case is not over yet Completed.” Here too, the authorities are the culprits.

In the picture: Burglar Daniel Troger. Kader Catal, who went to school with Troger, said: “He was a loner when I knew him at school and quite strange too.”

“If Lena had been accepted into the home, she would still be here, she would have been allowed to stay with either me or my wife.”

“But I would also like to know why the window was left open to allow this man entry, and why he was there in the first place?” What did he expect to steal from a children’s home? Is there information that is not being shared with me?

“I have not yet taken any action against the home and the authorities that run it, but I am thinking about it.”

Another shocking revelation revealed that Troger and the boy were drinking beer and watching pornography together in the house in the hours before Lena was attacked and then killed.

However, since he is not yet of criminal age in Germany (14 years old), he will not be punished and has since been transferred to another facility elsewhere in the country.

Bin man Troger was arrested by police three weeks after the murder when he showed up for his shift at the local depot where he works in Wunsiedel.

Police linked him to the crime through DNA found at the crime scene and also through his cell phone, which was picked up from the building.

Troger – who is married with two young children and is married to his wife Cassandra – has since been charged with rape, burglary and arson.

He is suspected of breaking into five construction containers and stealing construction equipment worth more than £12,000 last year.

On his now-deleted Facebook page, he describes himself as a “proud father” and that “family is the most important thing in the world,” alongside pictures of him, his wife and children.

He worked as a garbage collector in Wunsiedel and lived in nearby Thiersheim, where the locals know him as a “loner”.

Germany is reeling from the atrocity that occurred in April at the St. Josef children’s home in the picturesque Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, 90 minutes north of Nuremberg

A neighbor said: “He hardly had any contact with anyone.” They moved here from another part of Germany a few years ago.

“I know they have a child who is about 18 months old and an older child who is seven years old, as she is in the same school year as my daughter.”

“The woman and he must have had the children very young, as she must not be older than 25 years old.”

When MailOnline knocked on the pastel blue-painted house near the village football pitch, no one answered, but there was a trampoline and swings in the garden.

On her TikTok page, Cassandra has posted videos of the children playing in the garden, but there are no pictures of her husband.

Kader Catal, who went to school with Troger, told MailOnline: “I was shocked when I saw the news and it gave me goosebumps as I knew him when he was younger.”

“It left a deep impression on me because of what happened to the girl and knowing he has children of his own.”

“To be honest he was a loner when I knew him at school and quite strange too – I can’t believe someone I knew who had children of his own would do something like that.”

A spokesman for the local prosecutor’s office said: “An 11-year-old boy is suspected of murder and a 25-year-old man has been charged with rape, burglary and arson.”

“There is no evidence that the man was involved in the murder of the 10-year-old girl, rather the 11-year-old boy killed the girl after the man left the facility following an argument between the two.”

“Due to the boy’s criminal immaturity, no criminal proceedings can be brought against him and he has been taken into the care of the relevant authorities.”

“The older man is still in custody and confessed during the first interview.”

“The investigation into possible breaches of duty by the authorities responsible for the child abuse is still ongoing.”