Discovery in Marburg

Police found the body of a 35-year-old woman in a bush on the road Am Erlengraben in Marburg, a university town in the German state of Hesse, on Wednesday afternoon, 21 October 2026. The woman had been reported missing after she was last seen alive on the evening of Tuesday, 20 October, leaving a shopping centre in the city. Officers found her during a search operation in the area. The discovery led the Marburg prosecutor's office and the police to open a homicide investigation.

Cause of death

A police spokesman said the woman had been stabbed 19 times, and the body is to undergo a post-mortem examination. Investigators are acting on suspicion of a homicide, but the reports do not say whether a suspect has been identified or detained. Before the police figure was published, the Bild newspaper had reported 19 stab wounds as unconfirmed information. The Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) also reported several stab wounds on the body.

Investigation so far

Police and prosecutors said they would not release further details for investigative reasons. Officers sealed off the search area and secured traces, and they kept searching until the evening. According to a statement from the authorities, the Marburg prosecutor's office and the Marburg criminal police are carrying out extensive investigative measures.

What is still unknown

The reports name the victim only as a 35-year-old woman and give no name for any suspect. No motive has been disclosed. The reports also do not give a date for the next official update, so the timing of further findings is unclear.