Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN
This man accused of raping and killing a 17-year-old, also pictured, he met on a night out after she missed the last train home has baffled a court by claiming he was 17 not 19 at the time of her killing and should be tried as a minor.
The reduced age would mean alleged killer Brian S., who has dual German and Kenyan passports after he arrived in the country with his family aged two, could not be sentenced to longer than 10 years. It also means that the trial will take place out of the public spotlight.
He told the court his age was incorrect on the first day of his trial over the death of the 17-year-old girl after he allegedly invited her back to his room having met her only briefly for the first time that evening.
Pictures Credit: CEN
The victim told her parents she was going out and would stay overnight with a friend, but had then met Brian S. for the first time when she went with pals to a Shisha bar.
They had stayed longer than planned and she missed the bus, so he had invited her back to his room in a communal hostel for refugees and the homeless, reports said.
Her naked body was discovered there two days later when her sister raised the alarm. The suspect is thought to have dumped her clothes beside a nearby lake in Sankt Augustin, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pictures Credit: CEN
The trial is taking place in the German city of Bonn on the charge of murder in order to cover up another crime, in this case rape.
Chief prosecutor Robin Fassbender said that after he got her back to his room, Brian S. attempted to have sex with her, and when she refused, he attacked her and raped her. He said she then made the fatal mistake of threatening to report him, which was her death sentence.
The prosecutor told the court: “He made the decision to kill her. He suffocated her most probably by covering her nose and mouth with his hands and a cloth.”
When her body was found, he had already arranged large bin bags which he was allegedly going to use to try and remove the body and had also obtained a shopping trolley that he was allegedly going to use to move the body.
Pictures Credit: CEN
After police were alerted on the Sunday two days after she announced plans to stay with a friend, a group of children found the clothes belonging to the victim and a handbag.
The discovery led police to the hostel where the suspect lived and he reportedly then confessed to cops that the girl was dead in his room and an emergency doctor declared her dead at the scene.
The court heard he had confessed to police that he killed her but denied rape, saying she had agreed to sex but had insulted him, resulting in him becoming angry and killing her. His lawyer says that his client will not be making a statement about what happened other than what has already been said.
Elma, who is from Unkel in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, had not been reported missing earlier because phone messages have been sent to her friends indicating that she was okay.
According to local media, Brian was born in Mombasa in Kenya and came to Germany when he was two years old. He has previously been investigated for sexual abuse of a minor and for theft, according to reports.
Police have stated he has both German and Kenyan passports and a police spokesman confirmed he was not a refugee.
A verdict is expected at the end of June but before that happens the judge has confirmed that his claim of a younger age will need to be investigated.
