Woman found stabbed at home in Gumbrechtshoffen as homicide inquiry opens

A 57-year-old woman was found dead at home in Gumbrechtshoffen, a village in the Bas-Rhin area of eastern France.

Gendarmes and firefighters found her on October 13 after neighbors and people she helped raised the alarm when they could not reach her.

She lived with her 21-year-old son, who has severe autism, and worked as a home aide for older people and people with disabilities.

She had multiple knife wounds, but investigators have not established when she was killed; it may have been over the preceding weekend.

The Strasbourg prosecutor has opened a homicide inquiry, with investigations assigned to the Haguenau research brigade.

An autopsy is planned to help clarify how and when she died.

A young man in his twenties also died after going under a train in a nearby village, but authorities say a link between the cases has not been established.