US man sentenced to life in prison for killing tourist at Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle

A man from the US has been given a life sentence in jail for raping and killing another American tourist and trying to kill her friend near a popular tourist spot in Germany.

A German court found Troy Philipp B, 31, guilty of attacking two tourists near Neuschwanstein Castle. He said he hurt one woman and then pushed her and her friend off a cliff in June 14, 2023.

He made friends with the two women and then convinced them to leave the public path.

On Monday, in a court in Kempten, Bavaria, Judge Christoph Schwiebacher said the person was very guilty in the case.

He said the person who committed the crime may not be allowed to get out of prison for at least 15 years. This is what usually happens to people who are given life sentences in Germany, according to Agence France-Presse news agency.

German government could not confirm who the victims were, but their family members said they were Eva Liu, 21, and Kelsey Chang, 22, who had graduated from the University of Illinois.

The man from Michigan tricked the two friends into leaving the Marienbruecke bridge, which is a favorite spot to see the fairytale castle.

He showed them a secret path and warned them that it would be hard to find the bridge.

Officials say he pushed Ms Liu down, raped and choked her, and then Ms Chang tried to stop him.

He forced Ms Chang into a very deep ravine and then attacked her friend, choking her with a belt and filming it.

After some hikers found Ms. Liu unconscious, he pushed her into the ravine.

Rescuers found the women on the mountain and they were taken to safety by helicopters. Ms Liu passed away in the hospital because of her injuries.

Ms Chang was very hurt, but she lived.

The person they were looking for was not caught until later that day, after a big search.

A person visiting the area saw that his face and neck had deep red scratch marks and said there was signs of a fight.

During the trial in February, the person on trial said he felt really bad about what he did and that he didn’t plan to do it. He also said he had child pornography.

In her obituary, Ms. Liu’s family said she was a smart student who loved baking, traveling, and music.

The court in Germany did not give out the full name of the person who killed someone because of privacy laws.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria is 78 miles away from Munich and attracts over 1. 3 million tourists every year.