Friedrich Merz had called Marius Dick’s parents to give his condolences on their son’s random murder by an Afghan asylum seeker.  

22-year-old Marius Dick was just about to start a Master’s Degree program in military history when he was stabbed in the heart by Sajad M. Marius was in the process of writing his own book before his life was cut short by the violent migrant who attacked unprovoked on a street without any words having been exchanged by the two before the attack.

He leaves behind his 17-year-old brother Johannes and his parents.  

According to police, Marius was a random victim. He had just finished shopping and was walking home when the suspect attacked him with a kitchen knife, stabbing him at least twice in the upper body. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts, he later died in hospital. Police say the suspect and victim did not know each other.

Marius' mother, Elke Dick, said, "Something like this should never happen to any mother." She spent the first night after his death in her son's room to feel close to him. Together with her husband, Thomas Dick, she has joined the criminal proceedings as a civil party, saying, "We will be present at the trial. We owe that to Marius."

The family is demanding "real solutions so that something like this never happens again and the next murder can be prevented." Elke Dick said "something has to change in Germany. We no longer feel safe."

Marius had just completed his final history exam and was about to graduate from the University of Trier with a bachelor's degree before beginning a master's program in military history in Potsdam.

The Afghan suspect fled after the attack but was arrested a short time later. He has admitted carrying out the stabbing but has otherwise remained silent. A court has ordered his placement in a secure forensic psychiatric hospital after investigators said there are indications he suffers from a mental illness that may have impaired his criminal responsibility. A psychiatric evaluation will determine whether he can be held fully criminally responsible.