An 81-year-old man admitted to sexually assaulting and killing an American tourist over 30 years ago. This admission occurred at the start of his trial on Tuesday, as reported by the German news agency dpa. The defendant’s name remains private due to German privacy laws.
The incident involved the killing of 24-year-old Amy Lopez in 1994 in the city of Koblenz. Prosecutors described the crime as a treacherous murder motivated by the man’s sexual desires. Defense lawyer Volker Klein conveyed that the defendant fully acknowledged his deeds during the session at the Koblenz district court. Judge Rupert Stehlin confirmed this admission with the defendant, who simply responded with a nod and the word ‘yes.’
Amy Lopez was a tourist in Koblenz when the crime occurred on September 26, 1994. At the time, the accused was 49. He allegedly lured Lopez under false pretenses into a secluded area of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. There, it is reported, he handcuffed her, committed the assault, and inflicted nine knife wounds to her chest. Additionally, she was strangled, hit on the head with a stone, and endured multiple stab wounds. The strangulation involved a belt used when Lopez tried to defend herself, according to dpa.
Local children discovered Lopez’s partially nude body suffering severe head injuries. Her case turned cold for decades until advancements in DNA technology provided breakthroughs. Investigators recently applied new methods to DNA traces from Lopez’s clothing, analyzing approximately 1,600 samples. In 2024, 30 years after her death, a reward of 2,500 euros was offered for information after police uncovered male DNA evidence. Further information arose following the case’s feature on ‘Aktenzeichen XY,’ a true crime show.
The suspect, residing in a nursing home in the Koblenz area, was arrested in February. He has been held in pretrial detention since then. The trial is scheduled for eight days, with a verdict anticipated in September.