This article is a mea culpa. My thoughts (in italics) are as best as I remember them.
It all began in April of this year when this article appeared:
"Police in Hamburg have launched a murder inquiry after bestselling German novelist Alexandra Fröhlich was found dead on a houseboat following a violent attack.
Fröhlich, 58, was found dead last Tuesday morning by her son,” The Guardian reported.
The police said she was likely killed between midnight and 5.30am.
Authorities said on Sunday the case had been assigned to the murder squad, forensic evidence had been collected from the cerise houseboat docked on the Elbe river Holzhafen bank in the eastern Moorfleet district, and the coroner had submitted their report.
Swabs had been taken from at least one family member for possible gunpowder residue, according to Welt. Divers from the police as well as a 3D scanner had also been deployed, amid speculation that the murder weapon might have been disposed of in the river.
German broadcaster NDR reported, citing police sources, that Fröhlich had been shot.
“According to current information, relatives found the 58-year-old woman lifeless on her houseboat and alerted the fire brigade, who were only able to confirm the woman’s death,” The Guardian quoted a police spokesperson as saying.
“After evaluating traces and evidence, the investigating authorities now believe that the woman died as a result of violence. Given the ongoing investigation, no further information can be provided at this time.”
German media reported the police had requested the public to report any information they might have about the incident, particularly any suspicious activity in the area around the time of the novelist’s death.
Fröhlich started out as a journalist in Ukraine, where she founded a women’s magazine. She later worked as a freelance journalist in Germany before publishing her first novel, My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Catastrophes, in 2012.
The novel, based on her own experiences, became very popular, selling over 50,000 copies and landing on the Spiegel bestseller list. It was translated to and published in French in 2015.
Fröhlich also published Traveling with Russians in 2014, a sequel to My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Catastrophes.
She followed with detective novel Death is a Certainty in 2016 and Skeletons in the Closet in 2019, both of which found great success.
She is survived by her three children."
This is so tragic. Her son who found her must feel awful. What a tragedy for all her children. I hope her privacy and that of her family and friends will be respected at such a sad time. These stories often turn into a nightmare of constant lurid and invasive details. Who insists on knowing every detail of a tragic murder, with no respect for privacy? What kind of person does that? Though the murder of mystery writer who wrote a book called 'Death is a Certainty' will raise some eyebrows...
Some other articles were published about this murder but most simply stated the same basic facts and on the 30th of April another article appeared:
"Police have since confirmed that "blunt force trauma" led to her death; they are treating the case as a homicide. No suspects have been publicly named yet… Fröhlich said in an interview with her publisher that family stories were always a fascinating source of inspiration for her — especially those that are "wonderfully dysfunctional." She also noted that she aimed to explore in that novel the so-called transgenerational transmission of trauma, or how "unspoken family secrets are passed down from generation to generation and influence the lives of children and grandchildren."
What on earth? Pick a lane - blunt force trauma or shooting- how did she die? Given her interest in "unspoken family secrets", could a family member be chagrined and murdered her?
Could the murderer be a disgruntled fan? This has always worried me because writers don't have protection and are vulnerable. Along with my other concerns about invasions of privacy that come with fame, there are also security issues that are worrisome.
Or could it be someone she knows? A scorned lover looking for revenge? A family member wanting their inheritance early?
Why aren't they telling us more about her family, her social circle or possible leads???
On May 7th:
"German police have arrested the son of bestselling novelist Alexandra Fröhlich on suspicion of murder, after she was found dead on her houseboat in Hamburg.
The 22-year-old is accused of fatally beating his mother during the night of April 22."
That's it? No details? Why not release more details because they are now known? Why keep us all in the dark?
But, as we roll into August, no more details are forthcoming. That's it. No information.
As can easily be seen, I moved quickly from hoping there would be some respect for privacy, to full on stalker mode wanting all the details because the privacy of the family and loved ones was respected. So, in answer to my own question,
Who insists on knowing every detail of a tragic murder, with no respect for privacy? What kind of person does that?
Me. It's me.
Give me all the details and I am appalled at the invasion of privacy. Don't give me all the details and I demand them.
Mea culpa.
