After the fatal argument at the Säubrenner fair in Wittlich, the police handed over the investigation to the American authorities. Two suspects were arrested on Saturday.
According to the police, those arrested are two men aged 25 and 26. The suspicion against the two had been confirmed, it said on Sunday. According to the information, the two are US military personnel who had visited the Säubrenner fair together. The public prosecutor’s office has therefore handed over the case – in accordance with the NATO troop statute – to the American law enforcement authorities.
According to the current status of the investigation, the two suspects are two people from the group of four who saw witnesses leaving the crime scene. One of the men had a bleeding injury on his face.
Investigative authority of the US Airbase Spangdahlem takes over
With immediate effect, the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the investigative authority of the US Airbase Spangdahlem, will take over. The arrested men were handed over to the authorities on Sunday afternoon. Further details about the background have not yet been announced.
Colonel Kevin Crofton of the US Airbase Spangdahlem spoke of an “intolerable and avoidable tragedy in our peaceful community”. He thanked the local police and the town of Wittlich for their “partnership and patience while the investigation unfolds.”
The victim was the manager of a security service
The Wittlich police were alerted at around 2:40 a.m. on Saturday night. There was a dispute in the festival area of the fair, and a 28-year-old man from Wittlich was stabbed.
As is now known, the man was the manager of a security service and known as a martial artist in Wittlich. The victim was traveling privately on Saturday and was killed in close proximity to his front door.
In the afternoon, the investigators had finished the search for clues on site. The police assume that the deadly knife wounds were the result of a dispute and that there was no danger in the Wittlich city area.
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Knife found in the river
The autopsy of the dead man was ordered. A knife was found in the Lieser that could be the murder weapon. However, the police have not yet confirmed this.
However, the criminal police in Trier are still looking for witnesses who can provide information, especially about the group of people described. You can sign up below 0651/9779-2290 at the Trier Criminal Police Office report.
Changes in the fair program – parade cancelled
Due to the police investigations, there were closures in the inner city area, which, according to the city, made changes in the fair program necessary. The parade had to be cancelled. Later, the stalls reopened on the market square. On Sunday the program continued as usual.
As city press spokesman Rainer Stöckicht told SWR, they also considered canceling the Säubrenner fair completely, but decided to continue – also to send a signal against violence. Mayor Joachim Rodenkirch (CDU) has since had contact with the victim’s family.
Wittlich mayor “appalled and sad”
“This act happened right on our doorstep. You can only begin to measure the pain in the family,” said Rodenkirch on Sunday. The man’s father called for prudence.
In a short speech on the market square on Saturday evening, Rodenkirch was “horrified and terribly sad that a young man died in such a brutal way”. The mayor said his deepest sympathy goes to the parents and family of the deceased.
“It is with a heavy heart that the city has decided to let the fair continue despite the tragedy.”
The decision to continue the fair was not easy, said Rodenkirch. There will certainly be people who feel that this is disrespectful towards victims and families. Whether a joint mourning event will take place is still unclear. “The family first has to find itself before you overwhelm them with activities. There is so much suffering and pain. Then the right framework will be found.”
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More security measures at the fair
The mayor of Wittlich announced on Saturday that the presence of the security forces on site would be increased in the next few days. However, the concept for the fair has for years provided that police patrols, the US military police as well as riot police and employees of the public order office make continuous tours of the fairgrounds.
The incident overshadows the traditional Säubrenner fair in Wittlich, which also attracts national visitors – the organizers had expected up to 100,000 people by the end of the folk festival next Monday.