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German couple accused of killing Ukrainian refugee to kidnap her newborn and “pass her off as their own child”
A German couple were charged on Tuesday with the murder of a Ukrainian woman and the kidnapping of her newborn daughter, who they allegedly planned to pass off as their own.
The 44-year-old German woman and her 43-year-old husband were accused of killing the 27-year-old Ukrainian refugee in March, as well as her 51-year-old mother.
The couple’s motive for the double murder was a “long-unfulfilled wish to have a daughter,” Mannheim prosecutors said in a statement.
The pair “had been planning to kidnap a newborn female infant and pass her off as their own child,” the prosecutors said.
To that end, the 44-year-old woman is said to have joined a group chat on the Telegram messaging app intended to organize support for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion.
Through the group, the couple came in contact with the young Ukrainian woman, who was seeking help with translation ahead of the birth of her child earlier this year.
During a shared meal with the Ukrainian woman and her mother, 51, at a restaurant in March, the German couple are alleged to have slipped sedatives to the victims.
When the older woman became unwell, the couple offered to take her to the hospital and drive the 27-year-old refugee and her baby home.
The German man took the 51-year-old woman to a fishing lake, where he hit her “at least four times on the head with an unknown object” before dumping her body in the water, prosecutors allege.
The couple subsequently informed the 27-year-old Ukrainian that her mother had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital.
They picked the new mother up and drove her and her infant daughter to an area close to the Rhine river in Hockenheim, according to prosecutors.
The German man killed the 27-year-old, who was still dazed by the drugs, with “at least three” blows to the head.
The couple then set fire to the body and drove home with the newborn, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors previously said that a passerby found the body of the 27-year-old woman on March 7 and police divers found the body of her mother in the lake 12 days later.
On March 13, 2024, the German couple was arrested. The next day, an unharmed 5-week-old girl was taken into custody and taken to hospital as a precaution, prosecutors said, adding that a DNA test confirmed the baby was the daughter of the deceased 27-year-old.
The baby was place in the care of a welfare office.
The couple are being held pending trial. They are accused of murder in two instances, one in conjunction with the abduction of a minor.
According to the United Nations, nearly 6.5 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded globally as of February 2024.
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A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
Stephany Matat / AP
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
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