German police arrested a 30-year-old U.S. man in the killing and attempted sexual assault of an American tourist Wednesday near Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist attraction in Bavaria.
Police said he pushed two women down a 150-foot drop close to the edge of a pedestrian bridge that overlooks the castle in southern Germany outside the village of Schwangau.
A 21-year-old woman died in the hospital after the Füssen mountain rescue service retrieved her with a helicopter, police said Thursday. Her 22-year-old friend, whom police said the suspect choked when she intervened in the attack, survived the fall. The man and both women are U.S. citizens, the Associated Press reported. Their identities have not been released.
According to police, the three tourists met on a hiking trail east of the Marienbrücke bridge in the German Alps, and the man lured the two women to a trail out of public view. Police suspect he attempted a sexual attack on the 21-year-old, and he choked and pushed the 22-year-old when she tried to intervene.
The man was arrested near the scene shortly after authorities launched a search upon receiving a complaint around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday. The suspect appeared in Kempten District Court on Thursday and was taken to a correctional facility, police say.
Another visitor, Eric Abneri, who captured video of the arrest, told the Associated Press that the man appeared to have scratches on his face. Abneri and his friends also saw the rescue.
“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this,” Abneri told the AP. “It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff.”
Bavarian king Ludwig II ordered the construction of the Neuschwanstein Castle in the 19th century. It is one of the most visited castles in Europe.
Police said he pushed two women down a 150-foot drop close to the edge of a pedestrian bridge that overlooks the castle in southern Germany outside the village of Schwangau.
A 21-year-old woman died in the hospital after the Füssen mountain rescue service retrieved her with a helicopter, police said Thursday. Her 22-year-old friend, whom police said the suspect choked when she intervened in the attack, survived the fall. The man and both women are U.S. citizens, the Associated Press reported. Their identities have not been released.
According to police, the three tourists met on a hiking trail east of the Marienbrücke bridge in the German Alps, and the man lured the two women to a trail out of public view. Police suspect he attempted a sexual attack on the 21-year-old, and he choked and pushed the 22-year-old when she tried to intervene.
The man was arrested near the scene shortly after authorities launched a search upon receiving a complaint around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday. The suspect appeared in Kempten District Court on Thursday and was taken to a correctional facility, police say.
Another visitor, Eric Abneri, who captured video of the arrest, told the Associated Press that the man appeared to have scratches on his face. Abneri and his friends also saw the rescue.
“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this,” Abneri told the AP. “It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff.”
Bavarian king Ludwig II ordered the construction of the Neuschwanstein Castle in the 19th century. It is one of the most visited castles in Europe.
