The recently elected mayor of a German town was discovered with stab wounds at her residence, indicating she had been tortured in the basement before the violent assault took place. Iris Stalzer, aged 57, won the mayoral election in Herdecke, western Germany, on September 28 and was set to assume office on November 1. Her daughter contacted emergency services on Tuesday, reporting that Stalzer had sustained severe injuries in an attempted robbery outside their home.
Upon police arrival, it was revealed that Stalzer, with multiple stab wounds, was found inside the house, contradicting the initial report of an outdoor attack. Although airlifted to the hospital in critical condition, her life is now out of danger. During police questioning, Stalzer identified her 17-year-old daughter as the alleged perpetrator, as stated by police investigator Jens Rautenberg.
In an update provided by Bild newspaper, Stalzer disclosed to authorities that her adopted daughter had subjected her to hours of torment in the house’s basement. Reports indicated that the victim was stabbed with two knives, and efforts were made to tamper with blood evidence at the scene. Despite attempts to conceal large bloodstains before the emergency call, forensic investigators managed to uncover them. Both the teenage daughter and Stalzer’s 15-year-old son were apprehended, with the daughter handed over to the youth welfare office according to Die Zeit.
Prosecutor Bernd Haldorn classified the incident as a case of bodily harm. The attack on Stalzer, amidst previous violence targeting local politicians in Germany, elicited swift condemnation from Chancellor Friedrich Merz and others. Chancellor Merz conveyed concern for Stalzer’s well-being and urged a thorough investigation into the matter.
Stalzer, an employment lawyer aligned with the center-left Social Democrats, triumphed over a center-right Christian Democrat candidate for the mayoral position. However, investigators ruled out any political motive behind the assault. Herdecke, a town of approximately 23,000 inhabitants in the Ruhr region of western Germany, witnessed a heightened police presence following the incident, with a helicopter transporting Stalzer to the hospital.