A memorial in Wittlich, Germany, a few days after a 28-year-old man was found dead with stab wounds, Aug. 19, 2023. A Spangdahlem airman will face a court-martial on murder and other charges related to the death. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes )
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — An American airman is slated to be court-martialed on a murder charge connected to the summertime stabbing of a German man at a street festival.
Airman 1st Class Grant Harrison will face trial at Spangdahlem Air Base on May 28, 2024, the Air Force said in a statement Monday. If convicted of unpremeditated murder, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Harrison is accused of killing martial arts athlete and instructor Michael Ovsjannikov in the early hours of Aug. 19 in Wittlich, a town about 12 miles east of Spangdahlem.
Ovsjannikov’s body was found with stab wounds just yards from his home.
German police arrested two U.S. service members in connection with the stabbing later that day. Both were described as being in their mid-20s.
The two were transferred to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem pending an investigation, the wing said in a statement at the time.
The investigation into the second airman is still open, the wing said Monday in response to questions from Stars and Stripes.
Harrison is being detained at the U.S. military in Europe’s jail in Sembach pending trail, while the second airman “remains under the close supervision of his unit pending the completion of the investigation,” the 52nd Fighter Wing said Tuesday.
The probe has been led by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Harrison was identified in the statement as an aircraft journeyman assigned to the 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem.
A preliminary hearing last month found probable cause to charge him with unpremeditated murder, aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of justice, the Air Force said.
A military judge and members of Ovsjannikov’s family attended the Nov. 17 hearing, the statement added.
Ovsjannikov, 28, was a former member of Germany’s national youth judo team and trained children at a martial arts school he founded in 2022, according to his family.
He also founded a security company with more than 25 employees, the family said.
Ovsjannikov’s death resulted in an outpouring of grief. A makeshift memorial on Wittlich’s Trierer Strasse marked the spot where the stabbing was thought to have occurred.
At the time, residents said they were surprised to learn that U.S. service members were suspects, as they were used to seeing the American presence in a positive light.
