US man convicted of murder and rape, given life sentence for attack on 2 American women in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — An American man has been convicted of murder and other charges for attacking two American women near Germany’s famed Neuschwanstein castle last summer and pushing them into a ravine, fatally injuring one of them. He was sentenced on Monday to life in prison. The Kempten state court also convicted the 31-year-old man of attempted murder and rape with fatal consequences. The presiding judge determined that the defendant bears particularly severe guilt, meaning that he likely won’t 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 to charges, but the suspect admitted to the charges when his trial opened on Feb. 19.