Honour killing story: Penelope and her boyfriend (2001)

Penelope and her boyfriend
Born: 1974 (and 1963)
Murdered: December 8, 2001
Residence: Wiesbaden
Origin: Victim: Mexico (Germany); Perpetrator: Sicily
Children: 1 son (and 1 son)
Perpetrator: her ex-husband (age 28 at the time of the crime)

Penelope is a saleswoman in a bakery and married for 7 years to a Sicilian with whom she has a son who is 6 years old at the time of the crime. She gets a divorce and moves in with her mother. Her ex-husband starts stalking her. She meets a new man who also has a son.

On December 8, 2001, the ex-husband meets them both with their children at the Christmas market in Wiesbaden and stabs Penelope and her new boyfriend in front of the children. Shortly thereafter, he is arrested.

The perpetrator was sentenced by the District Court of Wiesbaden to 15 years in prison for double homicide. The real names of those involved are not known.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.