A Bulgarian migrant on trial for murdering a pretty German woman in her undies after trying to rape her when she went to a park with her Bible during her coffee break has claimed he only wanted to steal her phone. The accused, identified only as Stoyan A., 39, because of local privacy laws, broke his silence at the district court in the German capital Berlin to talk about the case where he is charged with the attempted rape and murder of 30-year-old Melanie Rehberger.
Just returned from Africa
Melanie, who worked as a media consultant and was described by local media as “blonde and beautiful with university degrees in education and communication”, had just returned from Africa where she volunteered on an aid mission organised by a local church.
She allegedly ambushed by the defendant when she left her office to get a coffee and relax reading the Bible outside on 28th May last year. Stoyan A. told the Berlin court that he had not pulled off her clothing as prosecutors say, and alleged Melanie was already in her undies when he encountered her in a park beside a railway line.
Wanted her mobile
He said: “I saw the girl, she was using her phone. She was just wearing her knickers and bra. “I did not want her to die. I just wanted her mobile phone.” Stoyan A., who is married and has two children, said he struggled with Melanie while trying to steal her phone.
He claimed: “She grabbed me by the collar and would not let go. She was surprising strong. I grabbed her by the neck. She scratched and squeezed my testicles. “We rolled down the slope and hit a wall. To me, she looked dead. So I buried her with her blanket and a covering of grass.”
He stripped her
Stoyan A. added: “I take responsibility for what I did.” According to prosecutors, Melanie was fully dressed and wearing a skirt when Stoyan A. came across her. They said that the Bulgarian migrant attacked the woman out of sexual lust and “stripped her of at least her skirt”, grabbing her tightly by her bra.
The prosecutors said that the migrant attempted to rape her “to enforce his continuing sexual desire”. According to prosecutors, Stoyan A. did not manage to complete the act as Melanie fought him off. He then allegedly suffocated the young woman after failing to rape her.
A police investigator described how they found Melanie with her mobile phone and a copy of the Bible next to her body two days after she failed to return to work from her tragic coffee break.
DNA traced under the nail
Her body was found in an advanced state of decomposition due to the hot spring weather at the time, although investigators still managed to find the perpetrator s DNA traces under Melanie s nails. A search on European DNA databases led the police to the northern Spanish city of Burgos where Stoyan A. was staying with his mother who lived there. On 3th June, he was arrested in Burgos and extradited to Germany.
According to local media, the defendant has a long criminal record of robberies and muggings, which is why his DNA was found on a European database. The trial is ongoing, with the defendant facing up to life in prison if found guilty.
