Man handed life sentence for attack on two women
AN American man was convicted of murder and other serious charges yesterday for brutally attacking two women near Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle last summer.
The Kempten state court heard how the man (31), who was sentenced to life in prison, pushed them into a ravine, fatally injuring one of them on June 14.
He was also convicted of attempted murder and rape.
The presiding judge determined that the defendant may not be eligible for release after 15 years as is usually the case in Germany. Defendants in the German legal system do not formally enter pleas but the suspect admitted to the charges.
Family
A GROUP of skiers who went missing in the Swiss Alps over the weekend tried to build a snow cave to shelter from the elements but froze to death, it is believed.
Rescuers tried to save the group of six but they became stranded at an altitude of around 11,400ft (3,500 metres) during a brutal storm.
A member of the group sent a distress call to emergency services around 5pm on Saturday, authorities said, but helicopters and rescue teams were unable to deploy, such was the ferocity of the storm.
The skiers, who ranged in age from 21 to 58, had left Zermatt, Switzerland that morning with the goal of reaching the town of Arolla, near the Matterhorn mountain.
Five had perished close to the Dent Blanche alpine cabin as rescuers are still continuing to find a missing person. Five of the six are reportedly from the same Swiss family, police said.
Anjan Truffer, of Air Zermatt who conducted the rescue operation, told media: “The picture we found was ugly... We saw that the ski tourers had tried to build a cave and protect themselves from the wind.”
Christian Varone, of Valais police, spoke of the emergency services rescue mission, who were “trying the impossible” and were held back due to the extreme weather.