Eppingen, Germany: A woman and a man are currently on trial for the alleged murder of a woman who bore a strong resemblance to the female suspect. Prosecutors claim that the accused pair had planned to stage the murder victim’s death in an effort to go into hiding and start a new life. The 24-year-old woman and 25-year-old man deny the charges brought against them.
According to prosecutors, the female suspect found people who resembled her on social media and attempted to arrange a meeting with them. It is alleged that she offered a woman the opportunity to appear in a music video with a rapper, only for the potential victim to find out that the invitation was fake. The accused pair then allegedly arranged to meet the murder victim in Eppingen, where they reportedly lured her into their car before assaulting and killing her.
The victim’s body was later found in a forest, initially misidentified as the female suspect. However, an autopsy revealed that the murder victim was in fact a 23-year-old Algerian woman who lived around 100 miles away from the accused. In addition to the murder charges, the accused pair is also facing allegations of attempting to hire a contract killer to murder the female suspect’s former partner’s brother. The male suspect is also accused of trying to persuade a fellow inmate to kill witnesses while in custody.
The trial began on January 16th and has been met with delays due to the defense’s argument that new evidence submitted by prosecutors needs extra time to be examined. Prosecutors argue that it is not uncommon for additional documents to be submitted after an indictment. The court is expected to make a decision on whether to suspend the proceedings in the coming week.