Overview
- On the trial’s first day, the defendant admitted through his lawyer to breaking into the victim’s home, raping her, and killing her.
- The 29-year-old airline employee was found after an apartment fire in Bonn’s Bad Godesberg in October 1992, with an autopsy indicating rape and death by strangulation.
- Prosecutors say the blaze was set to conceal the sexual assault, and the court will examine how the attacker gained entry.
- Cold‑case investigators reopened the file in early 2025, new forensic analysis produced a DNA match, and the suspect was arrested in May in Bad Breisig.
- Key questions remain about motive and victim selection, and a verdict is expected around mid‑March.