German teen charged with pushing Indiana girl to die after blood ritual

International cooperation between U.S. and German law enforcement led to the arrest of a young man in Hamburg on Thursday.

Hamburg prosecutors charged the 18-year-old on Friday with indirect murder and grievous bodily harm. The arrest followed a specific tip provided by the FBI.

The suspect is accused of using a Discord server to exert influence over a 14-year-old girl from Indiana. Prosecutors described the victim as psychologically fragile and said the suspect pressured her between September and October.

According to the prosecution, the suspect forced the girl to cut herself and write the letters NMK on a wall using her own blood. He allegedly demanded video recordings of these acts to send to him.

The suspect belonged to an online group called Nefarious Maniac Kult, or NMK. This group is part of a larger global network known as COM. Prosecutors stated the suspect sought a video of the girl's death to improve his status within the group.

The girl hanged herself in her bedroom a few days after the alleged blood ritual. The FBI’s Indianapolis office worked with the Fort Wayne Police Department to share information that helped identify the suspect. Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O'Malley said the collaboration allowed German police to advance the arrest.

O'Malley stated that the FBI works with global partners to find suspects who target or exploit children. He noted that the bureau sees a 300% increase in nihilistic violent extremism cases from September 2024 to September 2025. Many of these cases involve a group called 764, which encourages self-harm and violence without a specific ideology.