Death of a 14-year-old in Illerkirchberg: what was the motive?

VMany mourners pin a picture of Ece S. to their outdoor jackets before slowly walking up the slightly uphill path to the cemetery in Oberkirchberg, a district of Illerkirchberg. The Upper Swabian sky is blue that day and full of fluffy clouds. Ece S.’s childhood home is just over a kilometer from her grave. The piece of asphalt in front of the refugee home, where she was stabbed by an Eritrean refugee at 7.30 a.m. on Monday and died despite resuscitation, is in the valley. According to Islamic rites, the dead should be buried on the same day. This is not possible after a murder because of the public prosecutor’s investigation.

Ece means “the sublime, the beautiful”. The girl’s grandparents came to Upper Swabia from Turkey and set up a delicatessen in Send. Ece’s father is also a self-employed entrepreneur. Many members of the Alevi community have achieved wealth and education and see themselves as Germans, some no longer want to speak Turkish at all. The Turkish embassy in Berlin has sent its ambassador, and photos are being taken against the will of Ece’s family. The Turkish government likes to use such opportunities to convey to the Turks living in Germany: Better come home, Turkey is your homeland.

More than 1500 people come to the funeral

More than 1500 mourners came to the small cemetery to say goodbye to Ece and to support the family. Alevi communities from all over Germany published obituaries on Facebook, expressing their grief. Ulm Mayor Gunter Czisch (CDU), Member of the Bundestag Leni Breymaier (SPD) and Member of the Bundestag and State Secretary in the Ministry of Family Affairs, Ekin Deligöz (Greens), also came. It is the first Muslim burial in this cemetery. According to Islamic rites, the body is only buried in a linen cloth. “The burial was an ecumenical act – that is very unusual and would not be possible in almost all regions of the world,” says Deligöz, who knows Ece’s family well. “The Sunni Hodja and the Alevi Dede arranged the funeral together. This also shows how great the solidarity with Ece’s family is. In this rural area, people know and appreciate each other.”

The mourners are so large that after half an hour the imam asks that part of the ceremony be held in the parking lot in front of the cemetery. At the far edge of the cemetery, right-wing extremists observe what is happening. As the mourners return to the grave, the Imam says, “We strongly condemn this terrible act. The Alevis focus on charity and peace. We speak of the journey to divine truth. The body goes to earth, but the soul lives on.”

The cousin calls for love and respect

At that moment, Ece’s cousin found the strength to address a few sentences to the mourners: “Please be loving and dignified with each other, then the world will be better, be respectful, take care of each other.” Later – just before the imam put the lid on the Laying the coffin – you can still hear the wailing of a woman at the edge of the cemetery. Two of Ece’s friends are talking. “Dear Ece, we will never forget your beautiful smile,” says one. “I still remember how we went to the beach on vacation with the e-scooter and made trips to Stuttgart.” The other friend says: “She was always happy, so I want to be happy too, because she deserves it .”