21-year-old raped and murdered
Murder at Neuschwanstein: Prosecution and defense agree on punishment
Murder: The 31-year-old perpetrator pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 21-year-old US tourist in June 2023.
© picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / Picture Alliance
After raping and murdering a 21-year-old, the perpetrator is now on trial. The prosecution and defense are demanding the same punishment – but not for one detail.
In the murder trial surrounding the violent act of two 21 and 22 year old US tourists near Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, the public prosecutor and the The defense demanded a life sentence before the Kempten regional court on Monday. The public prosecutor’s office also demanded that 31-year-old Troy Philipp B., also from the USA, be determined to be particularly serious about his guilt and that preventive detention be reserved following his arrest, as a court spokesman announced.
B. had confessed in the trial that he had raped the 21-year-old woman and physically abused her so severely that she died. He also confessed to having previously pushed her 22-year-old companion down a slope – the woman survived the fall, which was around 50 meters deep.
Murder at Neuschwanstein: Prosecution and defense demand life sentence
The plea of the prosecution and defense essentially differed in their assessment of the attack on the surviving woman. The prosecution viewed this as attempted murder combined with grievous bodily harm, while the defense viewed this as merely bodily harm.
Both sides assessed the crime against the deceased woman as murder combined with rape resulting in death. Both sides also viewed the man as convicted of possessing child pornography. The verdict in the case that has caused an international stir is due to be announced on Monday next week.
The crime took place in June last year. B., who comes from the US state of Michigan, and the two women met by chance while hiking near the castle; they did not know each other before. According to the prosecution, B. used a pretext to lure the young women to a secluded area above the Marienbrücke near the castle, where the attack then took place.