(WWJ/AP) - The alleged attacker accused of luring two female tourists onto a trail and pushing them off a ravine -- killing one -- near a historic castle in Germany has been identified as a 30-year-old man from Lincoln Park.
Police in Germany arrested the Michigan man shortly after the incident last Wednesday, June 14, on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and attempted sexual assault.
Authorities claim the suspect assaulted two tourists he met near Germany's famous and historic Neuschwanstein castle. The attack left one of the women, a 21-year-old, dead and the other, a 22-year-old, hospitalized before being released a few days later.
Police said last week that the 30-year-old man met the two women on a hiking path and got them onto a trail leading to a viewpoint overlooking the famous castle where he then “physically attacked” the younger woman.
The 22-year-old tried to stop the assault on her friend, but both women were pushed into a ravine. Police spokesperson Holger Stabik said the older woman fell nearly 165 feet down a steep slope.
Both victims were recovered by mountain rescuers shortly after the incident, but the younger victim later died of her injuries suffered during the fall in the hospital.
According to CNN, the victims were identified as recent graduates Eva Liu, 21, and Kelsey Chang, 22, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Prosecutors said the women did not know the man until the incident.
The suspect, whose name wasn't released due to German privacy rules, was identified as a resident of Michigan after a Lincoln Park woman recognized him in a video posted online.
According to Stabik, nearly two dozen photos and videos on a specially created website came pouring in after police requested help from the public. The Lincoln Park woman, who only wished to go by Donna, said she was watching one of the videos when she recognized her neighbor.
“I’m in shock. Mainly because they appear to be a really nice family. Courteous, friendly and shovels my snow in the winter,” Donna said via the Associated Press.
A spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Kempten, Thomas Hörmann, said the investigation into the incident is continuing but it may be three or four months before authorities decide on an indictment.