Mariners Outfielder Halman Killed in Alleged Family Attack

Early this morning, Greg Halman, who played in the Mariners outfield, was found stabbed to death in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Halman's younger brother, considered a suspect at this time, was taken into custody by authorities soon after the discovery.

The 24-year-old Halman was born in the Netherlands and was part of the country's gold-medal European Championship winning squad in 2007. Since signing with the Mariners back in 2004, he spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues, but saw playing time in 44 games with the M's over the past two seasons. This past May, Halman was called up from the Tacoma Rainiers, and had two homers and six RBIs before being sent back to the AAA squad in August.

Halman, popular among teammates, often returned to the Netherlands in the off-season, and in recent weeks was part of a contingent of major leaguers taking part in the European Big League Tour, a program which teaches baseball skills to children.

The circumstances that led to Halman's tragic death this morning are still unknown, and a motive for the stabbing has not been reported.