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CRIME

US tourist dies after assault at famed Bavarian castle

A 21-year-old American woman has died after being assaulted and pushed down a slope by a US tourist near the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, police said on Thursday.

Published: 15 June 2023 16:51 CEST
Neuschwanstein and Alpsee in Bavaria
Neuschwanstein and Alpsee in Bavaria. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

A 30-year-old American man was arrested after the incident on Wednesday afternoon, police from the town of Kempten said in a statement.

The 21-year-old and her 22-year-old woman friend were hiking in the area when they met the 30-year-old man, the police said.

The man allegedly persuaded them to follow him down a secret trail that led to a good lookout point.

He then “physically attacked” the 21-year-old woman, police said.

When her friend tried to intervene, he allegedly choked her and pushed her down a steep slope.

Police believe “an attempted sexual offence” was then committed against the 21-year-old.

She was then also pushed down the slope, falling next to her friend some 50 metres below.

When mountain rescue workers found the two women, the 22-year-old was injured but able to talk.

READ ALSO: Two children ‘still critical’ after France knife attack

The 21-year-old was seriously injured and taken by helicopter to hospital, where she died later that night as a result of her injuries.

The man is being investigated on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and a sexual offence.

Member comments

  1. Oh my god. If he’s a soldier, hand him over for court marshal so he can be executed immediately after a short tribunal. If not, send him back to the States so he can be tried and given a death sentence. There’s no fixing these types of monsters.

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POLITICS

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

German officials said on Thursday they had raided properties as part of a bribery probe into an MP, who media say is a far-right AfD lawmaker accused of spreading Russian propaganda.

Published: 16 May 2024 17:19 CEST
Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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