The family of a man stabbed through the heart after allegedly groping a woman in Germany has blasted Elon Musk for tweeting about the incident while accusing authorities of hiding details over the case.
An American woman is facing a potential 10-year prison sentence for killing Eritrean-born Alem Tekeste, 64, who had lived in Germany since 1980 and had long been a German citizen.
The Mercedes worker was travelling to visit his son for his birthday when he was stabbed by the 20-year-old woman in the middle of the day at a packed train station in Kaiserslautern.
The woman – born in Germany but with US citizenship – claimed Tekeste groped her buttocks as they stood on an escalator on June 29. She pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest, piercing his heart.
Now, Tekeste’s family say authorities have refused to provide more information to them about the case – and hit out at tech billionaire Musk for asking ‘what is wrong with Germany?’ in response to a tweet claiming Tekeste’s killer was ‘being held hostage for stabbing a migrant’.
They admit they do not know whether Tekeste committed a sexual assault, but claim there is no evidence of Tekeste groping his attacker.
A relative and a source close to the family told MailOnline: ‘When I saw Musk and what he wrote on social media I was so angry.
‘They say he grabbed the backside of the girl. He may have, who knows – we haven’t seen any footage because the prosecutors are not telling us anything.
‘But if he did, does it really warrant such a violent, extreme reaction? Stabbed once directly in the heart as he was backing away.’
They added: ‘Trump was heard talking on tape about grabbing p***y – should he be stabbed to death as well?’
Eritrean-born Alem Tekeste, 64, had lived in Germany since 1980 and had long been a German citizen
Tekeste’s family say authorities have refused to provide more information to them about the case – and hit out at tech billionaire Musk for asking ‘what is wrong with Germany?’ in response to a tweet claiming Tekeste’s killer was ‘being held hostage for stabbing a migrant’
The woman, who lives in Kaiserslautern, handed herself in to police days after Tekeste died.
She told investigators at Landstuhl police station – 15 minutes from Kaiserslautern railway station and close to the US air force base at Ramstein – that she brandished her knife after being groped by Tekeste.
As he backed away, she followed him, explaining that he grabbed at the arm holding the knife but she pulled away and then stabbed him in the chest in the ‘same movement’.
The woman has told investigators that she didn’t ‘intentionally aim’ for his heart and argued that she was acting in self-defence.
After a six-month investigation she was eventually charged by local prosecutors with ‘assault with negligence leading to death’ and could face a maximum ten-year jail sentence.
Prosecutors say that because she ‘didn’t intend to kill’ she has only been charged with the lesser criminal charge and not manslaughter or murder.
The case led to tech billionaire and incoming White House Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk, posting on the X platform he now owns last weekend.
‘What is wrong with Germany?’ he said, in response to a post by the well-known right-wing account ‘Libs of TikTok’ which claimed Germany was ‘holding a US woman hostage’ for stabbing a migrant.
But Tekeste’s family have accused Musk of ‘not knowing what he is talking about’, sharing the story to millions upon millions of people without knowing the details of the case.
‘All the police wanted to know was, did he drink, did he do drugs, what as his relationship with the woman.
‘Alem was the victim, but they were trying to make him out to be something else.
‘He may have touched her, he may not – all we have is the police version. But we haven’t seen any video or any evidence and like I said even if he did it warrant such an extreme reaction? Why was this woman carrying a knife in public, in the daytime?’
The woman, 20, was standing on an escalator at Kaiserslautern train station (near the underpass pictured above), in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, when the 64-year-old man allegedly grabbed her backside on June 29
President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024
Tekeste’s family are also upset by reports the woman has been living a normal life while the judicial process rumbles on.
The source said: ‘How can a woman stab Alem to death and then be allowed out while waiting to go on trial?
‘It doesn’t seem right because we have been asking questions for months and not getting any answers from the prosecutors.
‘The only time we get information is when we read about it in the papers. We don’t know her name or her background but I’m sure there is a military connection.’
Relatives believe a military connection – the US has had a strong military presence in Germany since the end of WWII – is what is limiting details being shared with the family.
The US authorities have denied that the woman has any military connection.
Under German law, she will appear in an ‘adolescent court’ which means she could be treated as a juvenile and her name suppressed, as she was under 21 at the time of the attack.
The relative added: ‘That as well is hard to accept, this woman is 20 years old, lives in Germany, without her parents we understand and is being treated as a juvenile.
‘The family fears that this is being covered up and the fact the prosecutors are not sharing anything with us makes us very suspicious.
‘We didn’t know it was Alem until five days after he died, we saw the reports on the news about a man being killed at the station, but no one told us it was him.
‘Alem worked in the United States for two years, he was living all over with his job as Mercedes he was sent there to work in the Chrysler factories.’
Tekeste’s relatives believe his killer may have a military connection – the US has had a strong military presence in Germany since the end of WWII. They suspect this is what is limiting authorities from sharing more details about the case
US Airman 1st Class Grant Harrison (pictured), 26, was found not guilty of unpremeditated murder by a court martial
Hundreds of people protested outside the Spangdahlem air base in Germany after a US Airman was acquitted of murder
Tekeste’s family fear the case will end up similar to that of a German-based US soldier who was cleared of murder two months ago.
Grant Harrison, 26, was found not guilty at a court martial for stabbing to death Michael Ovsjannikov, 28, in August 2023 near Spangdahlem air base.
It has led to ongoing protests by locals outside the base, demanding justice and accountability for Ovsjannikov’s death.
Harrison had confessed to police: ‘I took my pocketknife out of my pocket and decided to stab him. Once or twice in the right side.’
A judge ruled the confession inadmissible as it was ‘made under duress’ but the words were relayed on a loop outside the base by protestors.
Tekeste’s relative told MailOnline: ‘The similarities are there, and I can see the same thing happening, our fear is that the details of what happened will not be public as the case will be heard in private.
‘Our lawyer contacted the prosecutor in October and has yet to hear anything, we only found out about the latest developments in the media – it’s not right.
‘If it was an accident and self-defence like said, why did she run away, why did she go 15 minutes further away to turn herself in? She could have waited at the station.
‘There is something that doesn’t smell right about this investigation and we aren’t being kept in the picture, we feel as if it’s being covered up.’
Legal representatives for the woman declined to discuss her case.
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