The man suspected of killing a 70-year-old woman in Hamburg-Lokstedt was required to leave Germany, according to the Government of Upper Bavaria . On 11 November 2026, a spokesperson for the authorities said the 27-year-old had not returned to his accommodation in Altötting district after leaving hospital in August. He was subsequently listed as a person whose whereabouts were being sought.
The woman was found dead in a flat in Lokstedt on 3 November 2026. The man had previously gone to the police himself to report an assault. When he led officers to an apartment block on Grandweg , he told them, according to police, that there was a dead person in a flat. Officers found the woman’s body there and arrested the 27-year-old.
The man was remanded in custody on suspicion of manslaughter. Police believe the suspect and the woman knew each other. The homicide squad and the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the circumstances. No motive has been disclosed so far; the man is presumed innocent.
The new information from the Upper Bavarian authorities concerns the period before the body was found. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had rejected the man’s asylum application in March 2025 and ordered him to leave the country, according to the authorities. He had not left Germany voluntarily. Deportation initially failed because his nationality could not be established beyond doubt without documents.
According to the Government of Upper Bavaria, potential destination countries refuse entry without the relevant documents. The authorities had therefore tried to obtain replacement documents through Gambian diplomatic missions. This was based on information provided by the man; the process has so far been unsuccessful. In its first statement on 3 November, Hamburg police described him as a Gambian national.
The authorities’ spokesperson also reported that the man had arrived from Italy in autumn 2022. He was later convicted of offences including entering the country unlawfully and fined. In 2025, he received an eight-month suspended sentence for theft. Hamburg is also investigating him on suspicion of unlawful residence.
According to the information provided, both the Upper Bavarian authorities and the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office had indications that the man had a mental illness. What bearing this has on the criminal proceedings remains unclear. The information about his immigration status explains how the authorities dealt with him before 3 November; it does not replace the investigation into the woman’s death. Police initially gave no further details of the ongoing proceedings.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).