An American man has been sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a tourist and the attempted murder of her friend – both US citizens from Illinois – in a gruesome attack near one of Germany’s most popular tourist sights.
A German court convicted the 31-year-old tourist from Michigan, identified as Troy B., for the attack on the two women near Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.
In Monday’s sentencing at the court in the southern town of Kempten, Judge Christoph Schwiebacher said the offense was one of “particular gravity” and ruled that the man will not receive automatic parole after 15 years, as is custom in Germany.
The attack took place on June 14 2023, when Troy B. befriended the two women near the historic Marienbrücke bridge, a popular viewpoint for Neuschwanstein Castle, before luring them away from the public path with the promise of an even better vantage point.
The victims, Eva Liu, 21, and Kelsey Chang, 22, were American tourists who had recently graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The man was previously unknown to them.
The perpetrator first assaulted Liu. When Chang attempted to intervene, he pushed her down a slope. Prosecutors said the man then throttled Liu and raped her, before also throwing her down a slope after he was discovered by other tourists who arrived at the scene.
The two victims were rescued from the ravine by the Füssen mountain rescue service in a helicopter. Liu later died of her injuries in hospital. Police officers arrested Troy B. near the scene of the attack.
Alexander Stevens, a lawyer representing Troy B., told journalists at the court on Monday: “As things stand now, our client will have to serve his sentence in the prison in (the German city of) Straubing if the judgment becomes final, as it has been established that there is a severe gravity of guilt.
“If it stays that way, our client will definitely have to spend 15 years in Germany before he is extradited. This would and could only be different if the USA itself were to submit a corresponding extradition request or if our client were to do so. We have of course advised our client not to do this.”
The lawyer said his client is yet to decide whether he will appeal the court’s decision.
Neuschwanstein Castle, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Munich, is one of the most popular destinations in Europe, attracting some 1.4 million visitors a year and around 6,000 visitors a day in the summer.