crime
Homeless man died of stab wounds – young people in custody
Flowers and candles in memory of a homeless man. He was stabbed to death. photo
© Sebastian Vogt/City of Horn-Bad Meinberg/dpa
Three teenagers are said to have killed a homeless man and filmed the crime. Even days after the crime, the unimaginable event continues to haunt people.
Flowers and arrangements are placed in one place, numerous candles are burning. It is a place to express grief. In this meadow Horn-Bad Meinberg, southeast of Bielefeld, a passer-by discovered a dead homeless man on Thursday morning. The victim died from stab wounds, police announced on Saturday following the autopsy results.
According to police, the suspected murder weapon is a knife. Three young people, just 14 or 15 years old, are suspected. You are already in custody. They are said to have killed the homeless man, filmed the crime and distributed the images.
“There are always people on site,” says Pastor Matthias Zizelmann from the Evangelical Reformed parish when asked about the flowers and candles. “There is great concern throughout the city,” he reports. People were shocked and horrified by the crime. The pastor sees the fact that many people gathered for a vigil on Friday evening as a strong sign “that the entire city of Horn-Bad Meinberg is standing together.” A city spokesman estimated that more than 100 people gathered. “The thoughts of our fellow citizens are with the friends and family of the victim,” he describes.
Interior Minister Reul dismayed
The act also caused consternation in state politics. “What we know so far dismays me. Three young people are suspected of having killed a person,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) on Saturday. The criminal police are doing everything they can to clarify the background. Once again he asked himself what drives young people to commit such acts of violence.
According to information provided so far on Friday, the public prosecutor’s office assumes that the victim and perpetrator met by chance. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the two older of the three young people – the two are 15 – admitted violence against the homeless man.
Just over six months ago, a child homicide in North Rhine-Westphalia caused consternation. Twelve-year-old Luise was found stabbed to death in a forest near Freudenberg in South Westphalia in March. Two girls, themselves only 12 and 13 years old, confessed to the crime. There will be no trial because children under 14 are not of criminal responsibility in Germany.
Regardless of this, homeless people are repeatedly victims of acts of violence. At the end of September, a homeless woman was shot in Iserlohn near Dortmund.
Announcement from Friday Announcement from Thursday