American man admits to attacking two Illinois tourists and killing Naperville woman near German castle

BERLIN — An American man on Monday admitted to charges of murder and rape after he allegedly pushed two Illinois women down a ravine, fatally injuring one of them near Germany’s Neuschwanstein castle last year.

The 31-year-old defendant admitted to the charges during the start of his trial, the German news agency dpa reported. Defendants in the German legal system do not formally enter pleas to charges.

“The defendant has committed an unfathomable crime,” defense lawyer Philip Mueller said in a statement. The defendant, whose name hasn’t been released in line with German privacy rules, confirmed that his lawyer’s statement was correct but did not answer any questions.

The man is accused of killing Eva Liu, 21, of Naperville, and injuring her friend, Kelsey Chang, 22, of Bloomington-Normal on June 14.

Liu had completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science in May at the University of Illinois Urbana at Champaign and was to start her career at Microsoft as a software engineer after the trip.

The defendant is charged with murder, rape with fatal consequences, attempted murder and possession of child pornography. Murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison in Germany.

The attack happened near the Marienbrucke, a bridge over a gorge close to the castle that offers a view of Neuschwanstein, one of Germany’s most famous tourist attractions.

Prosecutors say the defendant met by chance the two female tourists on a hiking path and lured them off the trail. They said in a statement that he apparently first forced the younger woman to the ground and tried to undress her.

When the other woman tried to help her, a scuffle ensued and the suspect allegedly pushed her down a steep slope. She fell about 165 feet and suffered a head injury, bruises and grazes but survived.

The suspect then allegedly strangled the younger woman until she was unconscious and raped her, prosecutors said, before pushing her down the slope as well.

Prosecutors said they secured a laptop and cellphones from the suspect containing child sexual abuse material.

Authorities say the women didn’t know the man before they met near Neuschwanstein. The suspect was arrested shortly after the attack.

A verdict is expected to be announced in mid-March at the earliest.

Naperville Sun’s Giles Bruce contributed.