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CRIME

Bakery driver on trial for burying ‘lying’ girlfriend alive

A 40-year-old bakery delivery man went on trial in Cologne on Tuesday for burying his girlfriend alive.

Bakery driver on trial for burying 'lying' girlfriend alive
Photo: DPA

Frank G. is accused of murder after allegedly assaulting the woman in the district of Merheim on May 18, 2008 and then quickly burying her while she was still alive. The man was apparently afraid that his girlfriend would leave him for another man, news agency DPA reported.

He’d left his wife – who had already reported that he was violent – for the 24-year-old victim. The accused described her as a chronic liar and thief, saying he had considered leaving her in 2007.

According to prosecutors, he lured the young woman to hospital grounds under the pretense that she should help him dig up €300,000 he’d buried in the area. After effectively digging her own grave, the man hit her on the head with a billy club, then hit her again and tied her up with a belt when she tried to escape from the hole. He then buried her alive.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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