American man jailed for life over rape and murder of tourist near German castle

KEMPTEN, Germany: An American man was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Monday for the rape and murder of a tourist and the attempted murder of her friend, both from the US, in a brutal attack near the country’s most famous tourist destination.

The attack in June attracted worldwide attention because of the presence of so many visitors at Neuschwanstein Castle, who photographed and streamed the scene as the women were taken by helicopter to hospital. The man, a 31-year-old tourist from Michigan, identified by the court as Troy B., befriended the two women near the Maria Bridge, which offers a picture-postcard view of the fairytale castle in Bavaria, before luring them away from the public path with the promise of an even better vantage point.