Grandma dies trying to stop sword fight
Grandson, 39, charged in death; another relative, 69, in critical condition
msnbc.com news services
updated 10:34 a.m. MT, Thurs., April 9, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS - A 77-year-old woman who tried to break up a heated sword fight between her grandson and brother-in-law died, and both men were hospitalized with stab wounds, police said Thursday.
Franziska Stegbauer was stabbed during the fight and investigators were trying to determine whether she died from those wounds or a heart attack.
Police placed her grandson, 39-year-old Chris Rondeau, under arrest on a preliminary charge of attempted murder. Stegbauer's brother-in-law, 69-year-old Adolf Stegbauer, suffered several serious stab wounds, police said.
"We're unsure yet who started this fight, how the swordplay got involved," police Sgt. Matthew Mount said. "We're not sure who it was who stabbed the woman. We'll have to do some testing on the swords and figure out who had which sword, whose blood is on which sword."
An autopsy was scheduled for Franziska Stegbauer on Thursday.
She was not breathing when officers arrived about 1 a.m. at the home on the city's northwest side and she was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
Adolf Stegbauer was listed in critical condition at Wishard Hospital, a spokesman said. Rondeau's condition was not immediately known.