Man Beats Neighbour to Death with Snow Shovel in Schnellenbach

From The Local:

A dispute over snow-clearing reached a tragic end when a man beat his neighbour to death with a snow shovel in North Rhine-Westphalia, police said Tuesday.

In the town of Schnellenbach, a man named by daily Bild as Abdulbah I., 45, repeatedly hit his neighbour, 49-year-old Wolfgang K., with the shovel on Monday, according to police and the state prosecutor in Cologne.

Bild reported that the two men had repeatedly argued in recent days over whose responsibility it was to clear the snow on the common entrance to their properties. They were both shovelling snow yesterday afternoon when the attack happened about 1:30 pm Monday. A murder investigation has been established.

Abdulbah I. is married and a father of eight children, according to Bild. The victim was also a father.

The two men had been feuding for some time and had even gone before a court because of long-running disputes. The victim had to cross Abdulbah I.’s land to get to his own home, the Cologne daily Express reported. Wolfgang K. also reportedly often antagonized his murderer.

"Wolfgang provoked him frequently," a neighbour told Bild.

Oh, well if Wolfgang "provoked him frequently" he probably deserved to end up battered to death.

Perhaps he wasn't an enthusiastic celebrant of diversity?

We might never know.

***UPDATE 15:06***

The German blog Politically Incorrect has slightly more information. The killer, Abdulbah I., is Lebanese.

Wolfgang K. (above) had two children - Marco (17) and Jenny (13). They are now orphans, because around the same time last year their mother died of a heart attack.

Abdulbah struck Wolfgang several times on the head with the shovel, and he was dead when paramedics arrived on the scene.

Abdulbah has been remanded in custody and is claiming "diminished responsibility."