Memorial Service in Kelkheim: Hundreds Mourn Woman Killed in Machete Attack

The city explained the invitation with the desire to mourn together with the family and to support those who had witnessed the attack at the market square. On Instagram, the invitation read verbatim: "Die abscheuliche Gewalttat am vergangenen Dienstag in der Stadtmitte hat uns tief erschüttert." At the memorial service, a photograph of the deceased was displayed, and donations were collected.

As the public prosecutor's office had announced the day after the crime, the 60-year-old man is said to have inflicted on his 58-year-old wife "mindestens 30 abgrenzbare Stich- und Schnittverletzungen im Bereich des Kopfes, Halses, Nackens und Oberkörpers" with a machete. According to investigators, the couple had been married since 1991 but had been living separately for several years. The man is in pretrial detention on suspicion of murder.

Course of the Crime and Investigation Status

Regarding the motive, the public prosecutor's office stated that the man had acted "aus übersteigertem Besitzdenken und Eifersucht." The woman died at the scene from her injuries. During the attack on Tuesday evening, three men aged 17, 28, and 32 had attempted to stop the perpetrator – their intervention, however, was unsuccessful.

Classification as Femicide

According to the public prosecutor's office's assessment, the violent crime is a femicide. The public prosecutor's office classifies the act as a so-called femicide, that is, the killing of a woman because of her gender, frequently within intimate partner relationships. The crime has also been categorized as a femicide at the municipal level.

Kündiger appeared visibly moved at the memorial service and paid tribute to the solidarity of the civic community. In his address, he thanked the three men who had attempted to stop the attack despite personal danger, as well as the emergency personnel and chaplains who had been on site immediately after the crime.

Solidarity and Thanks to Helpers

The two pastors offered prayers and words of comfort to the bereaved and to the numerous eyewitnesses. Several attendees laid flowers and candles at the displayed photograph of the victim. According to the city, the donations are to benefit an organization that works against violence against women; specific recipients were not initially named.

According to the city administration, the memorial service at the market square was expressly intended as a place of collective mourning and solidarity with the bereaved. The city of Kelkheim announced that it would take a closer look at the issue of violence against women and review preventive offerings.

The murder investigation by the public prosecutor's office is ongoing. Further details about the course of the crime or the exact sequence of events have not been made public. The city asked that speculation be avoided and that the space for mourning be respected.