German-Iraqi woman on trial for killing lookalike to fake her own death

A 24-year-old German-Iraqi woman and a 25-year-old Kosovan man went on trial at the Ingolstadt District Court in Bavaria, Germany, Tuesday on murder charges related to the killing of a 23-year-old woman in August 2022.

Prosecutors say the defendant sought to fake her own death to flee a repressive family situation.

According to the German weekly, Der Spiegel, the woman saw no way to escape her husband, his family and her Yazidi community after she tried to leave him.

She first tried to hire a hitman to kill her brother-in-law, who had kept the couple from separating. 

Then she began using social media to seek out lookalikes to allegedly lure one into a trap. A beautician, the woman used her social media accounts to promise free beauty treatments to lucky winners.

Defendant used social media to track down a victim

One doppelganger, from Heilbronn in southwestern Baden-Württemberg, accepted the offer to be picked up and driven to Ingolstadt for her free treatment. While en route on August 16, the victim was driven to a wooded area where the male brutally stabbed her to death with a large knife, according to the prosecutors.

The two perpetrators then allegedly drove the dead woman's body to Ingolstadt, where it was planted in the beautician's car to be found and reported.

The ruse worked in the immediate aftermath of the discovery, yet within a few hours, police discovered that the body in the car was not that of its owner.

Instead, the victim was identified as someone who looked "remarkably similar" to the defendant, whom police immediately arrested on manslaughter charges along with her accomplice.

In January 2023, police released a statement reading: "Investigators now believe the female suspect wanted to go into hiding and fake her death due to family problems."

Defense seeks trial dismissal, prosecution balks

The murder trial is set to end in May, after 28 days of hearings and witness testimony.

On Tuesday, the female defendant's four lawyers put forth a number of requests, among them that the trial be dismissed altogether.

The court is currently considering a delay requested by the defense. Lawyers claim it would be impossible for their client to get a fair trial at the moment due to the late admission of prosecutorial evidence last week.

Defense attorneys say they could not possibly review new materials on such short notice. Prosecutors say there is nothing out of the ordinary about evidence being presented after a suspect has been arraigned.

The court halted proceedings early Tuesday to consider defense requests and will reconvene next Monday with its findings.