Bad Oeynhausen - Fatal attack in the spa gardens - evidence points to lone perpetrator
In the event of a fatal attack on a 20-year-old in the Kurpark of Bad Oeynhausen, many questions regarding the perpetrator's motive and background remain open. The 18-year-old suspect, who is in investigative detention for manslaughter and grievous bodily harm, had not known his alleged victim prior to the incident, according to Bielefeld Public Prosecutor Christoph Mackel, speaking to the German Press Agency. The case has caused widespread shock and mourning.
According to the current investigation, the 20-year-old and companions were sitting on a park bench together in the early hours of the previous Sunday. The suspect, a Syrian, had been sitting nearby with at least two companions. The 20-year-old allegedly stood up unexpectedly and attacked his victim. The 20-year-old tried to flee, fell to the ground, and the suspect struck and stamped on his head. The motive is unclear. Several eyewitnesses, who were present at the scene, have reported to the investigators.
It is open whether there are further suspects, Mackel reported on Friday. Initially, the police and prosecutor's office had spoken of a group of about ten people who were being investigated as suspects. Several companions of the 18-year-old Syrian - young Germans - have since been questioned. They are not being treated as suspects but as witnesses, the prosecutor reported on Friday. They stated that the 18-year-old had committed the assault alone.
For the investigations and the legal processing of the case, the origin of the suspect is irrelevant, Mackel said. The prosecutor's office does not have the Aliens file on the suspect, so they can only make statements about the person under reserve. The Syrian is said to have come to Bad Oeynhausen in October. He came to Germany in 2016 as part of a family reunification with parents and siblings and initially lived in Pforzheim before moving to Bad Oeynhausen.
The suspect had previously come to the attention of the investigators through violent, property, and incapacitating substance offenses but had not been convicted, the investigators stated on Thursday. The 18-year-old continues to refuse the accusations, said the prosecutor. A murder commission is currently evaluating further witness statements and appeals for additional tips from the population.
- The public prosecutor's office in North Rhine-Westphalia, led by Christoph Mackel, is overseeing the investigation into the fatal attack in Bad Oeynhausen's Spa Park.
- The German Press Agency reported on the perpetration of a crime, involving bodily injury leading to death and grievous bodily harm, which occurred on a Sunday at the Spa Park in Bad Oeynhausen.
- Christoph Mackel, from the public prosecutor's office in Bad Oeynhausen, stated that the 18-year-old suspect is in custody for manslaughter and grievous bodily harm and had no prior relationship with the victim.
- The German Press Agency also reported that the crime caused widespread shock and mourning within the community in Germany.
- The perpetrator, a Syrian national, had previously come under the radar of the authorities for violent, property, and substance-related offenses, yet had not been convicted, according to the investigators.
