Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) – Because he is said to have stabbed his separated wife on the hard shoulder of a motorway, the Frankfurt am Main public prosecutor has brought charges against a 41-year-old man. The accusation was murder for low motives, said senior prosecutor Nadja Niesen on Friday. The incident happened in March of this year on Autobahn 661 between the Frankfurt districts of Eckenheim and Preungesheim.

The Serb is said to have been after the woman in the months after she announced the separation since October. On the day of the crime, he initially followed her with his car and, according to the indictment, braked her three times before her vehicle came to a standstill on the hard shoulder. According to Niesen, he then gave the woman seven stitches in the chest and ribs through the car window. A witness called the police and the emergency doctor – but the woman later died in the hospital from significant blood loss.

The alleged perpetrator spoke to the police of a “film tear” – he did not provide any further information. According to the indictment, he suffered “mentally and physically” from the separation, which was pronounced after a holiday together. Hearing dates before the jury chamber of the district court have not yet been set.