A 19-year-old Ukrainian refugee has been brutally murdered by her 17-year-old Syrian boyfriend in Mannheim, Germany. According to media reports, the case is investigated by German authorities as a murder, with the suspect in custody.
Maria, who arrived in Germany with her family after the war broke out in Ukraine, was found dead in the Käfertaler Forest north of Mannheim on Wednesday morning last week, after a passerby discovered her body and alerted police.
According to German tabloid Bild, prosecutors allege that she had been murdered by her boyfriend, Mohamed, a 17-year-old Syrian national. Their relationship was already characterized by abuse and assaults, with Maria preparing to report her boyfriend to the police. Her mother said Maria had already arranged an appointment with the authorities shortly before the murder.
Investigators say the couple met on Tuesday evening before heading to the forest together, where the murder happened. ‘She was unaware of the attack and unable to defend herself. The 17-year-old is said to have taken advantage of this and killed the 19-year-old with his bare hands and, presumably, a branch,’ a police report said. The fatal attack is believed to have taken place shortly after midnight.
Maria’s body was discovered several hours later, at around 8am, prompting a major police operation. Authorities formed a 60-member special investigation team to track down the suspect. The Syrian national was arrested later the same evening in Mannheim. On Thursday, he was brought before an investigating judge at Mannheim District Court, where an arrest warrant for murder was issued, and he was remanded in custody.
The brutal murder of Maria is not without precedent, but follows a series of similarly disturbing cases in Germany in recent years. In 2017, 15-year-old Mia Valentin was stabbed to death in Kandel by her Afghan ex-boyfriend, who had been denied refugee status, after she ended the relationship, in what prosecutors described as an act of revenge.
Similarly, in 2018, 17-year-old Mireille B was murdered in Flensburg by her Afghan ex-partner following a turbulent and controlling relationship marked by stalking and repeated abuse. That same year, 14-year-old Susanna Feldmann was raped and strangled by an Iraqi asylum seeker in Wiesbaden.
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