A woman in Germany stands accused of murdering another woman who looked like her, with prosecutors saying it's likely she killed her in order to try to fake her own death.
German media has named the suspect as Shahraban K., a 24-year-old German Iraqi woman. She was reported missing last August, when she stopped returning her parents' phone calls. They traveled from Munich to the southern city of Ingolstadt where she lived, and on Aug. 16 discovered her car, with a body inside. Authorities initially said the missing woman had been a "victim of a violent crime," but police spokesman Andreas Aichee told The Washington Post that soon after, "rumors" began swirling that she had been seen driving around Ingolstadt, and DNA and fingerprint evidence from the victim did not match the missing woman.
Authorities soon made a surprise announcement: they had arrested the missing woman and a 23-year-old Kosovan man on suspicion of homicide. German media identified the victim found in the car as Khadija O., a 23-year-old Algerian woman who looked "strikingly similar" to the female suspect.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Monday, German prosecutors gave an update on the case, stating that the female suspect wanted to "go into hiding because of a family dispute" and decided to fake her own death. The suspects started looking for women online who looked like her, and chatted with several. Police said the suspects were able to get the victim to agree to meet with them, and after they picked her up from her house in the Heilbronn area, they drove to a wooded area, stabbed her several times, and drove to Ingolstadt, where her body would be found in the car.
The suspects have been in police custody since being arrested in August on suspicion of homicide, and last week new arrest warrants were issued for murder. If convicted, the suspects face life in prison.
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
When does autumn begin?The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
The rise of the performative maleTalking Point What the latest internet trope tells us about gender roles, dating and male illiteracy
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
