An 18-year-old is suspected of having shot his father while they were hunting together in Middle Franconia. The son has been in custody since Thursday for manslaughter. “We assume this was an intentional crime,” said police spokesman Michael Konrad. However, the investigations have not yet been completed. Both come from Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg.

According to investigators, walkers discovered the man's body on Wednesday afternoon at a pond near the Bavarian town of Burgbernheim. Almost at the same time, the victim's wife contacted the police because her son had told her on the phone that he had shot his father during their hunting trip. The 18-year-old later turned himself in to the police in Denkendorf in Baden-Württemberg. Officers found a rifle in his car.

On Thursday, divers searched the pond near which the 54-year-old's body was found. There they found a second rifle. The son had previously told the investigators that it could be found there, said Konrad. It is still unclear how the crime happened and what motive the son may have had. The young man remained silent before the investigating judge. The criminal experts also hope to gain insight from the autopsy of the body, which forensic doctors examined on Thursday.