FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The finance minister of the regional state of Germany’s financial centre Frankfurt has committed suicide, police and the public prosecutor’s office said in a joint statement on Saturday.
Thomas Schaefer, who had led the finance ministry of Hesse for almost ten years, was found dead next to train tracks near Frankfurt, according to a police investigation.
Police and the public prosecutor’s office gave no information on the motive. They said they reached the conclusion he had committed suicide due to “extensive crime scene work, the questioning of numerous witnesses, the situation on site and the technical and forensic evaluations and investigations.”
Schaefer, 54, had been widely expected to succeed Hesse’s prime minister, Volker Bouffier, if Bouffier decided not to stand for re-election in 2023.
Bouffier said in a separate statement: “We are all shocked and can hardly believe that Thomas Schaefer died so suddenly and unexpectedly.”
Regional broadcaster Hessenschau said Bouffier was due to make a public statement on Sunday.
Poster Comment:
Those guys sit in a chair all day. Maybe his hemorrhoids were driving him crazy.
#1: Esso To: Anthem, 4um (#0)
I know tinnitus does. About 6kHz, DTMF.
Esso posted on 2020-03-31 21:57:35 Reply Private Reply
#2: Anthem To: Esso (#1)
Anthem posted on 2020-03-31 22:03:15 Reply Private Reply
#3: Esso To: Anthem (#2)
No, nothing that glamorous.
I was going to my mother's house to take care of her for the last time of the day. Some granny was texting some earth-shattering information to her grandkids when she lost control of her van and hit me head-on.
"No good deed goes unpunished."
Esso posted on 2020-03-31 22:18:47 Reply Private Reply
#4: Anthem To: Esso (#3)
Anthem posted on 2020-03-31 22:24:51 Reply Private Reply
#5: Esso To: Anthem (#4)
Been a long time ago.
Esso posted on 2020-03-31 22:30:11 Reply Private Reply
#6: NeoconsNailed To: Esso (#1)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2020-03-31 23:31:25 Reply Private Reply
#7: Esso To: NeoconsNailed (#6)
I don't know if you'd call it suffering, it sucks not being able to hear things like air leaks, bearing noises, water leaks, etc.
And having to say what?, excuse me?, huh?, say again, and so forth a hundred times a day.
Above 5kHz I'm deaf, except for the ~6kHz screech in my head. Sometimes I'd like to poke ice-picks through my ears, but that probably wouldn't stop it. The root cause is probably brain damage when my brain was bleeding and the concussion. It's really hard to concentrate or have any peace when the noise ramps up.
Esso posted on 2020-04-01 00:13:54 Reply Private Reply
#8: NeoconsNailed To: Esso (#7)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2020-04-01 01:52:57 Reply Private Reply
#9: Esso To: NeoconsNailed (#8)
Esso posted on 2020-04-01 02:38:37 Reply Private Reply
#10: Pinguinite To: NeoconsNailed, Esso (#8)
I have it also but not to the point of being any serious distraction. I've sought natural remedies and in my searches have encountered an opinion that there are gobs of conditions that could cause tinnitus. Kinda like there are gobs of reasons why a car won't start. One guy I know here in the mountains also has it and claims when he goes down to lower altitudes into the jungles for about a week, it disappears for him, so in his case maybe it's just oxygen levels or some such.
Improving blood flow with Ginkgo Biloba is a commonly cited remedy, but it doesn't do anything for me.
Maybe some people have found more permanent cures. Dunno.
Pinguinite posted on 2020-04-01 03:52:50 Reply Private Reply
#11: Pinguinite To: Anthem (#0)
Perhaps he pulled an Epstein.
Pinguinite posted on 2020-04-01 03:53:30 Reply Private Reply
#12: NeoconsNailed To: Pinguinite (#11)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2020-04-01 07:16:28 Reply Private Reply
#13: Pinguinite To: Anthem (#0)
I would think someone would choose an optimal place to do such a deed.
Pinguinite posted on 2020-04-01 12:27:47 Reply Private Reply
#14: Anthem To: Pinguinite (#13)
You mean smuggled him out in a body bag then switched in an imposter to lay on a gurney for the selected photographer? Doesn't smell like it to me.
If you think of it as everyone else in the industry being "trained", then it was an optimal place. A dramatic training session.
Anthem posted on 2020-04-01 12:35:53 Reply Private Reply
#15: randge To: Pinguinite (#11)
No one's really sure.
We're all fed a lot of horse manure, but the story is that he put himself in the way of the InterCity Express which moves at quite a clip making few stops along the way.
As Germany is a federal state, states like Hessen are taking on huge obligations in subsidizing businesses and entrepreneurs faltering in this virus crisis. It's widely said that Schaefer as state finance minister had crumpled under the pressure. His governor stated that Schaefer couldn't find his way forward out of the situation and had to take his leave by committing suicide.
The man leaves behind a wife and two kids. It would seem that a rational person might turn the reins over to someone else before leaving a family bereft of a husband and father. And yes, a lot of YouTube vids reporting this death have had their comments turned off. Many questions out there.
randge posted on 2020-04-01 14:21:59 Reply Private Reply
#16: Pinguinite To: randge (#15)
Everyone's psychology is different, but simply work stress wouldn't seem normal, particularly if he had wife and kids. Someone that high up should always have the option of quitting his work to end the stress. He should have been well paid over the years but likely had money in the stock markets like everyone else. Maybe he was over leveraged and quitting wasn't an option. Or who knows what kind of quality marriage he had.
Or maybe he made a bad decision with the bank's money in recent weeks and was about to be fired and that on top of his own portfolio getting hammered was too much. On the other hand, maybe he knew too much dirt on how the crisis was being handled and was about to blow the whistle and was Epsteined for that reason.
Pinguinite posted on 2020-04-01 19:28:35 Reply Private Reply
#17: randge To: Pinguinite (#16)
This may be connected with the man's untimely demise. He seems to have had no other big personal issues.
randge posted on 2020-04-02 07:45:48 Reply Private Reply