Steakhouse founder Eugene Black speaks out after his grandchildren were abducted

The Block family can't keep calm: After the two youngest children were kidnapped by strangers on New Year's Eve and taken to their mother and steakhouse heiress Christina Block, they are now back in Denmark with their father, Stefan Hensel. But the story is far from over: there is a residence order against the mother, but the dispute over the children continues. Now the grandfather, steakhouse founder Eugene Black (83), spoke with “Spiegel.”

The founder of the Black House Steakhouse chain didn't leave his former son-in-law on good terms. According to Block, Hensel was the sole driver of the conflict. “You can't talk to him, and you'll never be able to settle a conflict peacefully because Hensel is vengeful.” During the conversation with “Spiegel”, the 82-year-old repeatedly insisted that Hensel was in fact the kidnapper when he kept the children in Denmark in 2021, contrary to the agreement.

Black also makes serious accusations against Hensel's lawyer, who, in his opinion, is fomenting panic and supporting his client's smear campaign. Their strategy: smear Christina Black as a bad mother. Although many close to the children swear that she is a good mother. “But Hansel goes on. This man is full of hate.” Hansel comes across as nice at first, but then he manipulates others.

In the interview, Eugen Black, on the one hand, is very vague about the kidnapping (“I know, we sat together at three in the morning and celebrated the New Year in our hotel bar. I don't know anything. Other”), on the other hand, he strongly criticizes the actions of the Danish authorities, he – of the German authorities. In contrast to the conclusion – Stephen gives Hensel the right to keep the children with him: “It is very strange in the state. of Denmark.” He says of the arrest warrant against his daughter: “It's a pending case, I can't say anything, I don't want to say anything.”

At the end of the interview, the 83-year-old said a little more: “This is repatriation, not kidnapping, long overdue repatriation” and “children need to go back to their mothers.” Black didn't directly deny involvement in his daughter's kidnapping, but he certainly didn't admit to it either. He continues: “The Helper. Friends could have done it.” He reiterates that his daughter hasn't seen her children in two-and-a-half years and has exhausted all legal options. “She's focused on that, that's her path.”

Christina and her ex-husband have been fighting for custody of their children for years. In the summer of 2021, Stefan Hensel had the two youngest children with him after a visit to Denmark. Since then, Christina Black and her partner Gerhard Telling have been fighting to get the children back to Germany. The eldest daughter (17) voluntarily moved to live with Hensel. Christina Black lives in Hamburg with her second eldest daughter (15).

On New Year's Day 2023, the custody dispute reached its tragic climax with the kidnapping of two younger children. On New Year's Eve, Hensel and their two children watched fireworks go off at the “Cafiodora” restaurant in Gravenstein, a Danish town with a population of 4,000. Suddenly they are attacked by many who knock down Stefan Hensel. The children were forced into a rental car and taken to Germany, where they were reunited with their mother after several stops.