Overview

• Alexandra Fröhlich, a 58-year-old bestselling crime novelist, was killed on April 22 in her houseboat on Hamburg's Holzhafenufer canal.
• Initial reports indicate she survived a gunshot at 1:30 a.m. but died later from blunt-force trauma during a violent struggle.
• Hamburg police arrested her 22-year-old son on May 8 under suspicion of murder; he is being held in solitary confinement.
• Authorities delayed releasing Fröhlich’s identity for a week in adherence to Germany's strict privacy laws.
• Fröhlich had relocated to the distinctive houseboat with her three sons six months before the incident.