Pair on trial for murder of enslaved women

A couple accused of luring women to their home in western Germany and abusing them so badly that two of them died have gone on trial charged with murder by omission and bodily harm.

Wilfried W, 46, and his 47-year-old ex-wife, Angelika W, were brought into the state court in Paderborn separately – the female suspect holding a file in front of her face, but her ex-husband looking at photographers and talking with his lawyers.

Prosecutor Ralf Meyer told the court that the couple sought women as slaves for Wilfried W.

They aimed to break their victims’ will with violence – kicking their legs, scalding their skin and making them sleep in a cold barn, among other things.

The trial is to resume on 16 November and is expected to continue until at least the end of March.