70-year-old killed – suspect was required to leave the country but went into hiding

The suspect in the violent death of a 70-year-old in Hamburg should no longer have been in Germany, but had gone into hiding. “The man was most recently housed in accommodation for refugees in the Altötting district,” said a spokesman for the government of Upper Bavaria. There were indications of mental illness.

Following a hospital stay, he did not return to his accommodation in August 2026, subsequently went into hiding and was therefore reported to the police for a whereabouts investigation, the authority spokesman said. The “Hamburger Abendblatt” initially reported.

The Hamburg police also announced that the Hanseatic city's LKA had evidence of a mental illness in the 27-year-old man. In addition, according to the information, proceedings are ongoing in Hamburg on suspicion of illegal residence.

As early as March 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected the 27-year-old's asylum application and asked the man to leave the country. However, he did not leave Germany voluntarily - and deportation initially failed because the authorities were unable to determine beyond doubt the man's nationality without the appropriate papers. According to the government of Upper Bavaria, he entered Italy illegally in autumn 2022 - and was later sentenced to a fine for this attempt, among other things.

The 27-year-old was sentenced again in 2025, the authority spokesman said. At the time, he received a suspended sentence of eight months for theft. According to the authorities, the fact that he could not be deported until the violent act in Hamburg was due to the fact that destination countries would refuse entry to the man without papers. Because of the man's information, a procedure has been initiated at Gambian diplomatic missions abroad to obtain replacement documents - but so far without success.

Last week, the woman's body was found in an apartment in an apartment building in Hamburg-Lokstedt. The 27-year-old appeared at a nearby police station and reported bodily harm. According to the police last week, on the way to the crime scene he suddenly reported a dead person in an apartment. According to current information, there is evidence that the injured party and the suspect were acquainted with each other. The police did not provide any further information about the investigation.