Overview

• The 57-year-old was found with life‑threatening stab injuries at her home shortly after 12:40 and was airlifted to a specialist hospital in Bochum.
• A homicide commission is leading the probe, and police and prosecutors said by evening there were no signs of a politically motivated crime.
• Her two adoptive children, aged 15 and 17, placed the emergency call and were taken into police custody for questioning and forensic measures.
• Media reports cite an earlier summer incident of alleged domestic violence in the household that investigators are reviewing, and on‑scene accounts of a handcuffed teenager remain based on reporting rather than official confirmation.
• Stalzer won the September 28 runoff with 52.2% of the vote and was scheduled to assume office in early November.