Beautician posed as pop star ‘in plot to kill Instagram lookalike’
German police claim ‘doppelganger murderer’ lured target with series of elaborate online ploys
A WOMAN who sought out a “doppelganger” and murdered her in a plot to fake her own death initially tried to lure her victim by posing as a pop star in need of dancers, German prosecutors claim.
A German-iraqi beautician, known as Shahraban, and her Kosovan boyfriend, Sheqir, have been accused of killing Khadidja, an Algerian beauty blogger, in August last year.
Weeks before her death, the 23-yearold victim received an Instagram message claiming to be from the rapper Lune inviting her to star in an upcoming music video.
But the message aroused Khadidja’s suspicions, and she sent her own message to the rapper, Bild reported.
In a voice message to the artist, she said: “I hope you can see it [my message] and answer me because I’m very, very unsure … it would be really cool if you could tell me if it’s real or fake.”
The rapper’s response came quickly: “It’s fake, sister. Don’t answer!”
But posing as the pop star was just one of several strategies the suspect is accused of using to convince her target to meet her. One week after she had received the message, Khadidja, from Eppingen, is believed to have fallen victim to another elaborate hoax – believed to be a cosmetics offer – and was killed after going to meet Shahraban and Sheqir in the southern city of Ingolstadt.
After Lune heard about the murder, she posted a message to her fans paying tribute to Khadidja, saying “she was contacted again with a lure attempt, this time it worked because she believed in the good in people”.
As many as five women are believed to have been approached by the couple but were dismissed as targets as they were not close enough likenesses.
Khadidja’s death immediately aroused suspicions, with police originally suspecting a crime of passion.
But after further investigation, the suspects were charged with murder.
Khadidja died after being stabbed more than 50 times and was discovered lying in the back seat of a Mercedes in a residential area on the banks of the Danube. Her face was so badly disfigured even Shahraban’s parents were fooled and identified the body as that of their daughter’s before a post-mortem examination and DNA testing revealed that it was Khadidja, who had been reported missing.
The motive in the crime, nicknamed the “doppelganger murder” by the German press, remains unclear. It has been suggested that Shahraban had been trying to escape a family dispute.
Police said they believed the two suspects planned their escape together.
The pair, who face life in prison if convicted, have yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
The names of the victim and suspects have not been published in full in line with Germany’s privacy laws.