Teenager held in Germany after killing couple in Bavaria

Police in Germany have arrested an 18-year-old who is said to have killed a married couple in their house in Bavaria, reported dpa.

The teenager turned himself in to police. The nature of his relationship to the 47-year-old woman and the 51-year-old man was still being investigated, a police spokesperson said on Sunday, adding that they had not been related to him.

The 18-year-old is scheduled to appear before an investigating judge on Monday. The motive and the background to the crime are still unclear, according to the police.

The couple's four children, all minors, had been in the house at the time, the spokesperson said. It was not clear to what extent they had witnessed the crime, but investigators had already been able to question them, he added.

The children were now being cared for by the youth welfare office.

Neighbours alerted the police shortly after midnight after hearing cries for help from the property in Mistelbach, a town in Upper Franconia, according to the authorities.

The emergency services discovered the bodies of the couple in the basement. Both had stab wounds.

Police launched a large-scale operation to find the perpetrator before he turned himself in.

According to initial findings, the 18-year-old had spent the night at the couple's house.