BERLIN — An 81-year-old defendant admitted on Tuesday to sexually assaulting and killing a 24-year-old American tourist in Germany more than three decades ago, German news agency dpa reported as his trial opened in Koblenz.
The man, whose name is not being published under German privacy regulations, acknowledged in court that he killed Amy Lopez on Sept. 26, 1994, while she was visiting the western German city of Koblenz.
Allegations and Court Admission
Prosecutors say the defendant, then 49, lured Lopez into a secluded room at the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress under false pretenses. He is accused of handcuffing and sexually assaulting her, strangling her with a belt, and stabbing her nine times in the chest. The indictment also alleges he struck her on the left side of the head with a rock when she resisted.
Prosecutors: The man is charged with "killing a person in a treacherous manner and for base motives in order to satisfy his sexual urges."
Defense counsel Volker Klein told the Koblenz district court that his client had made a full confession. When presiding Judge Rupert Stehlin asked the defendant to confirm this in court, the 81-year-old nodded and said "yes." Children playing nearby discovered Lopez's body shortly after the attack.
Cold Case Breakthrough
The case went unsolved for decades until recent advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to re-examine biological traces preserved from the scene. DNA recovered from the victim's waistband and thigh were reanalyzed using modern methods and ultimately matched the suspect, producing the breakthrough that led to his arrest.
The suspect was arrested in late February at a nursing home in the Koblenz area and has been held in pretrial detention since. The court scheduled eight days for the trial, with a verdict expected in September.
Note: The reporting follows German privacy rules that prohibit publishing the accused's name while legal proceedings are ongoing.
