German Mayor Reportedly Stabbed 13 Times by Adopted Daughter in Gruesome Attack

In a shock­ing case that has shak­en Ger­many, Iris Stalz­er, the may­or of the small town of Herdecke in North Rhine-West­phalia, was bru­tal­ly attacked and stabbed 13 times — alleged­ly by her 17-year-old adopt­ed daugh­ter.

Author­i­ties say the assault took place on Tues­day evening in Stalzer’s home. Emer­gency ser­vices were called after neigh­bors heard dis­tress­ing screams. The may­or was air­lift­ed to a near­by hos­pi­tal in crit­i­cal con­di­tion but is now report­ed­ly in sta­ble con­di­tion fol­low­ing emer­gency surgery.

Ger­man media out­lets report that Stalz­er was “tor­tured for hours” before the attack end­ed. Inves­ti­ga­tors have not con­firmed a motive but are explor­ing fam­i­ly ten­sions and pos­si­ble psy­cho­log­i­cal issues as con­tribut­ing fac­tors.

The teenag­er was tak­en into cus­tody short­ly after the inci­dent and is cur­rent­ly under­go­ing psy­chi­atric eval­u­a­tion. Offi­cials say the inves­ti­ga­tion is ongo­ing and have urged the pub­lic to avoid spec­u­la­tion until more details are con­firmed.

Res­i­dents of Herdecke, a qui­et river­side town near Dort­mund, have expressed shock and sad­ness. Col­leagues describe Stalz­er as a ded­i­cat­ed and com­pas­sion­ate leader, deeply involved in local com­mu­ni­ty projects and known for her calm, approach­able demeanor.

The attack has reignit­ed nation­al con­ver­sa­tions in Ger­many about youth vio­lence, men­tal health, and the pres­sures of pub­lic life.

A local coun­cil mem­ber sum­ma­rized the town’s grief: “We can’t believe some­thing like this could hap­pen here — espe­cial­ly with­in her own fam­i­ly.”