The family of a man stabbed in the heart after allegedly groping a woman in Germany criticized Elon Musk for tweeting about the incident and accused authorities of hiding details about the case.
An American woman faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for killing 64-year-old Eritrean-born Alem Tekeste, who had lived in Germany since 1980 and was a longtime German citizen.
The Mercedes worker was traveling to visit his son for his birthday when was stabbed by a 20-year-old woman in the middle of the day at a crowded train station in Kaiserslautern.
The woman, who was born in Germany but has American citizenship, claimed that Tekeste touched her buttocks while they were on an escalator on June 29. He pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest, piercing his heart.
Now, Tekeste’s family says authorities have refused to give them more information about the case and lashed out at tech billionaire Musk for asking “what’s wrong with Germany?” in response to a tweet claiming that Tekeste’s killer was “being held hostage for stabbing a migrant.”
they admit They do not know if Tekeste committed sexual assault, but they say there is no evidence that Tekeste groped 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 got very angry.”
‘They say he grabbed the girl’s butt. Maybe he has, who knows: we haven’t seen any recordings because the prosecutors won’t tell us anything.
‘But if he did, does it really justify such a violent and extreme reaction? He was stabbed once directly in the heart as he backed away.
They added: “Trump was heard talking on tape about grabbing pussy. Should he be stabbed to death too?”
Alem Tekeste, 64, born in Eritrea, had lived in Germany since 1980 and was a long-time German citizen.
Tekeste’s family says authorities refused to give them more information about the case and lashed out at tech billionaire Musk for asking “what’s wrong with Germany?” in response to a tweet claiming that Tekeste’s killer was “being held hostage for stabbing a migrant”
The woman, who lives in Kaiserslautern, turned herself in to police days after Tekeste’s death.
She told investigators at Landstuhl police station, 15 minutes from Kaiserslautern train station and near the US Ramstein air base, that she brandished her knife after being groped by Tekeste.
As he backed away, she followed him and explained that he grabbed the arm holding the knife but she pulled away and then stabbed him in the chest in the “same motion.”
The woman told investigators she did not “intentionally aim” at his heart and argued she was acting in self-defense.
After a six-month investigation, local prosecutors finally charged her with “negligent assault resulting in death” and she could face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
Prosecutors say that because she “did not intend to kill,” she has only been charged with the lesser criminal charge and not manslaughter or murder.
The case prompted tech billionaire and incoming White House Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk to post on the X platform he now owns last weekend.
‘What’s wrong with Germany?’ he said, in response to a post by the well-known right-wing account ‘Libs of TikTok’ that claimed Germany was ‘holding an American woman hostage’ for stabbing a migrant.
But Tekeste’s family has accused Musk of “not knowing what he’s talking about,” sharing the story with millions and millions of people without knowing the details of the case.
“All the police wanted to know was if he drank, if he did drugs and what his relationship with the woman was.
‘Alem was the victim, but they tried to distinguish him as something else.
“He may have touched her, he may not have touched her; all we have is the police version.” But we haven’t seen any video or proof, and like I said, even if he did, would he deserve such an extreme reaction? Why was this woman carrying a knife in public during the day?
The woman, 20, was standing on an escalator at the Kaiserslautern train station (near the underpass shown above), in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, when the 64-year-old man allegedly grabbed her hand. back on June 29.
President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2024.
Tekeste’s family is also upset by reports that the woman has been living a normal life while the court process continues.
The source said: ‘How can a woman stab Alem to death and then let her out while she waits to go to trial?
‘It doesn’t seem right to me because we’ve been asking questions for months and not getting a response from the prosecutors.
‘The only time we get information is when we read about it in the newspapers. We don’t know his name or background, but I’m sure there is a military connection.
Family members believe that a military connection (the United States has had a strong military presence in Germany since the end of World War II) is what limits sharing details with the family.
US authorities have denied that the woman has any military connection.
Under German law, she will appear before a “teenage court”, meaning she could be treated as a minor and have her name suppressed, as she was under 21 at the time of the attack.
The relative added: “This is also difficult to accept, this woman is 20 years old, lives in Germany, without her parents we understand it and they treat her like a minor.
‘The family fears this is being covered up and the fact that prosecutors are not sharing anything with us makes us very suspicious.
‘We didn’t know it was Alem until five days after his death, we saw reports on the news about a man murdered at the station, but no one told us it was him.
“Alem worked in the United States for two years, living everywhere with his job as a Mercedes and was sent there to work in the Chrysler factories.”
Tekeste’s relatives believe his killer may have a military connection: The United States has had a strong military presence in Germany since the end of World War II. They suspect this is what limits authorities from sharing more details about the case.
US Airman 1st Class Grant Harrison (pictured), 26, was found not guilty of unpremeditated murder by court-martial
Hundreds of people protested outside Spangdahlem air base in Germany after an American airman was acquitted of murder.
Tekeste’s family fears the case will end up similar to that of a U.S. soldier based in Germany who was acquitted of murder two months ago.
Grant Harrison, 26, was found not guilty in a court-martial for stabbing 28-year-old Michael Ovsjannikov to death in August 2023 near Spangdahlem Air Base.
This has led to continued protests by locals outside the base, demanding justice and accountability for Ovsjannikov’s death.
Harrison had confessed to the police: “I took my knife out of my pocket and decided to stab him. Once or twice on the right side.
A judge ruled the confession was inadmissible because it was “made under duress,” but protesters broadcast the words on a loop outside the base.
A relative of Tekeste 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 still has not heard anything, we have only heard about the latest developments in the media; It’s not good.
‘If it was an accident and self-defense as stated, why did he escape, why did he walk away 15 more minutes to turn himself in? I could have waited at the station.
“There’s something wrong with this investigation and they’re not keeping us in the loop, we feel like they’re covering it up.”
The woman’s legal representatives declined to discuss her case.