Table of Contents
- First Picture of Detained Son
- Details of the Arrest
- Condition of the Victim
- Ongoing Investigation
- Reactions to the Incident
This is the first image of the son who was detained by German police and questioned regarding the brutal stabbing of his mother.
Authorities apprehended the teenager and his 17-year-old sister following the incident that occurred near the residence of the newly elected mayor.
This is the first image of the son detained by German police
The teenager was escorted into a police van, wrapped in a blanket
Iris Stalzer, 57, was reportedly stabbed 13 times in the abdomen and back
Forensic officers were observed at the crime scene, aiding in the investigation
Images depict the teen being led away to a police van, wrapped in a blanket following the incident.
Paramedics transported the 57-year-old Social Democrat to the hospital with life-threatening injuries from her apartment in Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, around lunchtime on Monday.
Initial reports indicated she was allegedly stabbed in the abdomen and back, and she managed to crawl back inside the house.
The son informed police that he discovered his mother inside their home after the horrific attack.
Her 17-year-old daughter was also present in the apartment at the time, according to Bild .
The mayor, who remains in critical condition, was reportedly “briefly responsive” with police this afternoon, according to Welt .
Stalzer was “awake at some point” and capable of answering brief questions.
She allegedly stated that she “knew who committed the crime,” but provided no further details.
A specialized homicide unit from nearby Hagen is still exploring all possibilities, including whether the attack could be related to family issues.
The stabbing occurred just weeks after her adopted daughter allegedly lunged at her with a knife.
Meanwhile, a neighbor reported hearing the mother and son engaged in a “screaming” match just half an hour before emergency services arrived at the scene, Bild reported .
Neighbors also claimed that arguments frequently occurred between the daughter and the mother.
Stalzer had recently been elected mayor of the 22,500-inhabitant town in the Ruhr region after a runoff vote on September 28.
She won narrowly with 52.2 percent of the vote against center-right Christian Democrat candidate Fabian Conrad Haas.
Her term is set to commence on November 1.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), commented on the attack via social media: “We have received news of a terrible act in Herdecke,”
“It must be swiftly investigated. We fear for the life of the mayor-designate and hope for her full recovery.”
The SPD parliamentary group leader in Berlin, Matthias Miersch, expressed his hope that Stalzer will “survive the terrible act.”
This incident recalls the concerning memory of the 2019 murder of conservative local government president Walter Luebcke.
Luebcke was shot dead by a far-right activist while he was smoking a cigarette on his terrace at home.
Luebcke was a vocal supporter of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned that this case could confirm the “great danger posed by Islamist acts of violence.”
