A 20-year-old American woman was involved in a fatal stabbing incident on June 29, 2024. The woman was released from custody as investigations continue. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
A 20-year-old American woman detained after the fatal stabbing of a man at Kaiserslautern’s main train station was released from custody pending an investigation on a lesser charge, the Kaiserslautern prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.
Following a review of surveillance footage, a Kaiserslautern District Court judge on July 18 reclassified the offense and issued a conditional release.
The woman, who later turned herself in to German police, is now under investigation on the less severe charge of bodily harm resulting in death rather than manslaughter.
The stabbing occurred on June 29. Surveillance footage showed the man, identified only as a 64-year-old Eritrean national, touching the woman’s buttocks at the end of an escalator.
This led to a verbal altercation, during which the woman pulled out a knife and pointed it at the man.
Video analysis suggested that the stabbing was not deliberate with an intent to kill, deputy chief prosecutor Dominik Ludwig said in a statement Wednesday.
The woman, who was born in Germany and is an American citizen, told authorities during a custody hearing that she didn’t mean to kill the man, who died later from his injuries later that day. She is not affiliated with the U.S. military, Ludwig added.
An autopsy showed that the man died from a knife wound to the heart, Ludwig said.
Investigators want to determine why the woman was carrying a knife, and they are seeking to gather additional witness testimony and forensic evidence, he said.
July 31, 2024 13:58
