An American woman who stabbed a man to death at a German railway station after she said he had sexually harassed her has been spared jail.
Fallyn Ball, who is 21 years old, was potentially facing up to ten years in prison. However, judges decided to give her a reduced sentence because she was considered a juvenile under German law when the crime occurred. This lesser sentence was then suspended.
During the trial, it was acknowledged by the judges that Ball had acted in self-defence initially. However, they noted that she had then made a conscious decision to turn her actions into an attack on Alem Tekeste, a 64-year-old man, shifting from a defensive position to an aggressive one. Tragically, this altercation near the top of an escalator resulted in Tekeste’s death within seconds.
Alem Tekeste, originally from Eritrea, had been a resident of Germany since 1980 and held German citizenship. Despite his integration into German society, the incident sparked significant controversy in a country where discussions around immigration are currently a sensitive and contentious issue.
Relatives said they were shocked at the lenient sentence.
Their lawyer Dawit Stifnos told MailOnline:’ There was never going to be justice for Alem, a father of two and a German citizen, the prosecutor was better than her defence.
‘The court acknowledged it was manslaughter but still only gave her two years suspended sentence, she walked out, with her passport and will now just go back to America.
‘Alem was a father, husband, brother and this is how he was treated after paying his German taxes, the verdict implies that his life is worth nothing.
Fallyn Ball (pictured), 21, was facing a maximum of ten years in prison but judges ruled that as she was still technically a juvenile under German law when the offence was committed, she should be given a lower sentence which was then suspended
Eritrean-born Alem Tekeste, 64, had lived in Germany since 1980 and had long been a German citizen
‘His family are devastated by the verdict, and I will be appealing, the fact she was walking round in broad daylight with a knife should have been addressed.
‘The court agreed that she adopted a defence stance and then later changed to attack and footage shows her stabbing him in the chest.
‘He was a 64-year-old man, she was half his age, she didn’t need to stab him with a knife.’
The court in Kaiserslautern was shown footage of the attack which happened at the city’s train station last summer.
As part of the proceedings Ball was taken to the concourse where the attack happened as exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline show.
The trial heard that Aken had grabbed Ball from behind and that he had sexually harassed her before.
As footage of the stabbing was played in court Alem’s wife and children fled in tears.
Ball said she had tried to push him away but then reached for the knife and plunged it into his heart in one swift movement.
As part of the proceedings Ball (black top and blue jeans) was taken to the concourse where the attack happened as exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline show
Fallyn Ball (wearing a black leather jacket) is pictured above at Kaiserslautern station scene of the fatal stabbing from last year with members of the court
Fallyn Ball, 21, was standing on an escalator at Kaiserslautern train station (near the underpass pictured above), in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, when the 64-year-old man allegedly grabbed her backside on June 29
Prosecutors said the woman had stabbed the man but not with the intention of killing him asked for a sentence of 21 months.
But the court raised it to 24 after deciding it was manslaughter, and she was also ordered to do 500 hours community service and undergo drug rehabilitation treatment.
Last autumn when prosectors announced they would be bringing the case to trial Elon Musk wrote on X:’ What is wrong with Germany ?’ adding Ball was ‘being held hostage for stabbing a migrant’.
The comment sparked outrage from Alem’s family who told MailOnline:’ What does he know. Did what he (Alem) did warrant such a violent extreme reaction?
‘He was stabbed once directly through the heart as he was backing away.’
