Germany: US soldiers held over fatal fairground stabbing

Autopsy results released on Monday showed that a 28-year-old man who died after a dispute with two US soldiers at an amusement fair in western Germany was stabbed multiple times.

Officials said the man was involved in “a scuffle” in the early hours of Saturday morning at a fair in the town of Wittlich, between the western German city of Trier and the border with Luxembourg.

What do we know so far?

The autopsy found that the victim had multiple knife wounds in his upper body. “He ultimately bled to death,” senior prosecutor Manfred Stemper said.

Both suspects, aged 25 and 26, were handed over to US military law enforcement authorities after they were arrested, under the terms that regulate NATO troop deployments in allied nations.

The German prosecutor said the reason for the initial quarrel and the subsequent attack remained “completely unclear.”

Neither suspect has admitted to the crime, with one of the men claiming that he does not remember what happened, Stemper said. Both soldiers had been visiting the fair with friends.

What happens now?

A statement from the US Spangdahlem Air Base, about 20 kilometers (roughly 12.5 miles) from Wittlich, said the men would remain in US custody until the investigation was complete.

Local police said the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the airbase’s investigative agency, would be responsible for the investigation.

An investigation is underway into whether a knife that was found in the nearby Lieser River was the weapon used in the stabbing. Forensic analysis of potential evidence remains ongoing.

“This is certainly an intolerable and preventable tragedy in our peaceful community,”  the US military newspaper Stars & Stripes reported Colonel Kevin Crofton, the commander of the US 52nd Fighter Wing, as saying.

“We thank the local police and the Wittlich town leadership for their partnership and patience as the investigation runs its course,” Crofton said.

The incident happened at the town’s traditional “Säubrennerkirmes” fair, the name of which refers to local folklore about a medieval siege of Wittlich.