“Biker, Die” Near Stuttgart: What Police Say About the Oil Suspicion

• Nine crime scenes in the Rems-Murr district and the Esslingen district, all located on bends
• According to police, no traces of oil were found and no one was injured
• The Aalen police headquarters has been investigating with its own task force since Monday

Update from 28 July 2026: The Aalen police headquarters has provided further details in response to a written enquiry. The number of crime scenes, the exact locations, the wording of the lettering and the details on how it was applied have been updated accordingly.

The Rems-Murr district east of Stuttgart is considered prime territory among motorcyclists. Winding back roads run through vineyards and forests, and fine weekends bring plenty of traffic. It was there, on the night of Friday, 24 July, into Saturday, 25 July 2026, that large lettering appeared on the road surface. The messages targeted motorcyclists and were in some cases phrased as outright death threats. They were painted in white, mostly right in the middle of bends. Reports about them reached the police on Saturday and Sunday.

What exactly happened in the Rems-Murr district?

Unknown perpetrators smeared slogans against motorcyclists onto the road at several locations over the weekend. The Aalen police headquarters confirmed this on Monday in a press release, which the Reutlingen police headquarters shortly afterward also circulated for the Esslingen district.

Police initially did not disclose the exact wording in their statement. On request, the Aalen police headquarters later named it for its own area of responsibility: the asphalt read “BIKER STIRB” (“biker, die”), with a differing slogan of similar intent at one location. Police list no further texts or symbols. Media reports render that differing piece of lettering as “EIN BIKERSCHWEIN WENIGER” (“one less biker pig”) and additionally mention “TOD DEN MOTORRADFAHRERN” (“death to motorcyclists”). Neither version has been confirmed by police. It should be noted that the information from Aalen refers only to the crime scenes in the Rems-Murr district, as a different headquarters is responsible for the Esslingen district. One piece of lettering was still visible on Sunday evening between Baltmannsweiler and the Remstal. The responsible road maintenance depots then moved in with a cleaning vehicle and removed the graffiti from the road surface.

Where exactly was the lettering found?

Police now know of nine crime scenes, seven in the Rems-Murr district and two in the Esslingen district. Only state and district roads popular with motorcyclists are affected.

For the Rems-Murr district, the Aalen police headquarters lists seven locations: the L 1147 between Schorndorf and Oberberken, the L 1151 from Schorndorf-Schlichten to the Esslingen district boundary, the L 1150 near Winterbach between Engelberg and the Goldboden, in Weinstadt the K 1865 between Schnait and Manolzweiler, the K 1864 between Beutelsbach and Aichwald and the L 1201 between Strümpfelbach and Schanbach, plus, in Kernen im Remstal, the L 1199 running from Stetten toward Esslingen at the Stettener Sattel, the so-called gateway to the Remstal.

The first press release had still assumed six locations in the Rems-Murr district and had assigned a site on Stettener Strasse just past Esslingen to the Esslingen district. In the later list from Aalen, however, the road from Stetten toward Esslingen appears as a separate crime scene in the Rems-Murr district, joined by two crime scenes in the Esslingen district. That brings police to nine locations, as many as media reports had already cited. Of the two Esslingen crime scenes, only the K 1210 between Baltmannsweiler and Schnait has been named publicly so far.

All the crime scenes have one thing in common: they lie on bends, precisely where a motorcycle leaning into a curve has the least margin for error.

Was there actually oil on the road?

No. In its statement, police explicitly clarified that only the graffiti was found at the crime scenes. No traces of oil or similar substances were discovered.

Over the weekend, it had sounded different. Initial reports mentioned an oil-based substance said to have also been spread on the road. That suspicion has not been confirmed. In response to an enquiry, the Aalen police headquarters stated that no investigative leads have emerged on this so far. A police spokesperson had already qualified the matter earlier, saying that at most the fresh paint itself might have been slippery. Asked whether a motorcyclist had crashed as a result, he replied: “There were no specific cases.” Police also state that, based on current knowledge, no motorcyclist was harmed by the incidents.

This is an important distinction for assessing the case. Paint on the road is a threat and, depending on its condition, a safety hazard. A deliberately laid oil trap would be an attack posing an immediate danger to life. Police have so far kept the two clearly separate.

How is the investigation being conducted?

The Aalen police headquarters set up its own task force on Monday morning, based at the Schorndorf police station. The investigation is being conducted on suspicion of dangerous interference with road traffic under Section 315b of the German Criminal Code. The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office has been informed of the matter.

This is no minor offense. Anyone who interferes with road traffic and thereby endangers the life and limb of others faces a prison sentence. The classification shows that investigators are not treating the graffiti as mere property damage. The investigation, however, is still at an early stage, and police cannot yet provide any information on the perpetrator’s motive. The Aalen headquarters is leading the case, with the Reutlingen headquarters responsible for the two crime scenes in the Esslingen district.

How was the lettering applied?

At each crime scene there was a single piece of lettering in white paint. According to the police assessment, the paint was probably applied with a paint roller. The sizes vary, with some of the lettering measuring three metres by one metre.

A paint roller would match what can be seen in the images: wide, evenly tall letters with rough edges and visible overlap marks. It allows for fast work and produces large letters without anyone having to kneel down and paint by hand. This is more than a minor detail. Anyone who covers nine locations in a short space of time needs time, material and a way to transport it all. The paint itself is therefore likely to become one of the most important pieces of evidence.

Have there been threats like this before?

Yes, and the sequence of events strikingly resembles the current case. In August 2021, several hate slogans targeting motorcyclists appeared along the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, the B 500, between Baden-Baden and Plättig.

On the night of Saturday, 14 August 2021, the words “Drecksau, Biker stirb” (“scumbag, biker die”) appeared in large yellow letters on the wall of a wooden hut beside the B 500. The road itself read “Leg dich in dein Sarg” (“get into your coffin”). The trail of slogans began at the entrance to Baden-Baden and extended into the Freudenstadt district. On the B 294 between Seewald and Freudenstadt, the slogans “Verrecke” (“drop dead”) and “Kein Mitleid mit dem Pack” (“no mercy for the scum”) were found. Only a few weeks earlier, a motorcyclist had been killed there in a crash, though no link was ever established. Police investigated the 2021 case as criminal damage.

A particularly striking parallel lies in what happened next. Shortly after the slogans appeared, warnings spread on social media claiming that parts of the B 500 had been coated with oil and soft soap to bring down motorcyclists. Police checked the road and found nothing of the kind. A spokesperson made clear that these reports were false. The exact same pattern is now playing out east of Stuttgart: first the threats, then the suspicion of an oil trap, then the denial. Removing the paint proved laborious in 2021. High-pressure cleaners and chemical agents were not enough, and a specialist firm eventually had to be brought in, for which the B 500 was partially closed with temporary traffic lights. According to the Baden-Baden city administration, the cost ran into the low five-figure range.

Reminders of the Allgäu oil traps

Considerably more serious was a series of cases in the Allgäu region that remains unsolved to this day. On Palm Sunday 2011, motorcyclist Josef Deniffel died there after his Honda skidded on a deliberately laid oil trap and was thrown into an oncoming car. The father of two was one of several victims in a series that, according to later investigations, had been running since at least 2007. A perpetrator was never caught, even though the case was investigated as murder.

In June 2026, oil traps reappeared in the same region. On the evening of 5 June, pools of oil were discovered in two bends on the B 308 near Scheidegg in the Lindau district, in time before anyone was harmed. Police closed off the Rohrachschlucht area, and the fire department cleaned the road surface. This time, the oil had been thrown into the bends in plastic bags that burst on impact. In the earlier cases, fragile glass bottles were used. Police are investigating that case too as dangerous interference with road traffic, with a spokesperson stating that authorities were sensitized because of the earlier crimes and that “we are investigating in all directions.”

No link between the incidents in the Allgäu and the graffiti near Stuttgart has been established so far. The Aalen police headquarters is not aware of any comparable cases in direct connection with the current offenses. What connects both cases is the pattern: popular curving roads, weekend timing, and perpetrators who appear to be deliberately targeting motorcyclists.

Who can help the police now?

Police are looking for motorcyclists who were riding on the roads mentioned last weekend and were endangered as a result. They are also looking for witnesses who observed anything during the nights in question.

Tips can be reported to the Schorndorf police station at phone number 07181 2040. Even seemingly minor details are helpful, such as a vehicle that stopped at a bend at night, or an unusual piece of equipment on a truck bed.

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