A SCHOOLGIRL who was stabbed to death by a total stranger on her way to school in a small town in Germany has been pictured.
Tributes have been pouring in for 14-year-old Ece S. from Illerkirchberg, who was knifed in the stomach in the frenzied attack as she was walking to the bus stop with her friend.
The student and her 13-year-old friend were rushed to the hospital but despite the medics' best efforts, Ece could not be saved.
Her friend remains in the hospital with injuries, which are thought to be non-life-threatening.
The funeral of the 14-year-old girl, who was of Turkish origin, is expected to be held tomorrow in the city of Urn.
Heart-breaking pictures show hundreds of candles burning at the scene of the attack while among the tributes one reads "Rest in peace, little angel".
It emerged that Ece left home with her twin brother on Monday morning but decided to wait for her friend so her brother caught an earlier bus, according to information from the Bild.
Ece's devastated father Mesuttold the outlet: "I didn't expect so many people to come and support us."
Meanwhile, a 27-year-old suspect who was arrested yesterday was ordered to be held in jail.
The man from Eritrea, who is accused of attacking the teens, declined to speak when he appeared before a judge at the hospital where he was treated for injuries following his arrest.
He was transferred to a prison hospital, prosecutors said.
Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the attack and whether the suspect and the girls knew each other before it happened.
Thomas Strobl, the interior minister for Baden-Wuerttemberg state said investigators have so far found "no information whatsoever pointing to a political or religious motivation for this crime.
Two other men who were detained by police Monday have been released, prosecutors said.
Turkey's ambassador Ahmet Basar Sen visited the girl's family to offer his condolences.
Appearing at the crime scene to pay his respects he said to the mourners: "It hurts tremendously. It's hard to believe that a 14-year-old girl would be murdered by a total stranger."
