COLOGNE, Germany — Three decades after a young American tourist was found brutally killed in a German tourist landmark, a stunning admission has opened one of the country’s most long-dormant cold case trials. On Tuesday, 81-year-old defendant — whose identity is being withheld under strict German privacy regulations — publicly acknowledged he sexually assaulted and murdered 24-year-old Amy Lopez during her 1994 trip to the western city of Koblenz, Germany’s national news agency dpa confirmed.
According to case details laid out by prosecutors, the fatal attack unfolded on September 26, 1994. At the time of the crime, the suspect was 49 years old. Prosecutors allege he lured Lopez under false pretenses into an isolated, off-limits room within Koblenz’s iconic Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, a popular sightseeing destination for international visitors. Once inside the secluded space, he restrained Lopez with handcuffs before carrying out the sexual assault. When Lopez fought back and screamed for help, the suspect struck her left temple with a rock and strangled her with a belt, before inflicting nine stab wounds to her chest that ultimately ended her life, per the prosecution’s account.
Shortly after the attack, a group of children playing in the area near the fortress stumbled on Lopez’s body. Despite immediate investigative efforts by local law enforcement, the case went cold, remaining unresolved for nearly 30 years. It was not until recent years that investigators revisited the case, applying modern DNA analysis techniques to preserved forensic evidence. That new approach delivered the long-awaited break in the investigation: DNA samples recovered from Lopez’s waistband and thigh matched the genetic profile of the 81-year-old suspect, according to dpa’s reporting.
Authorities took the suspect into custody in late February at a nursing home in the Koblenz region, and he has remained in pre-trial detention ever since his arrest. During the opening session of his trial at Koblenz District Court Tuesday, defense attorney Volker Klein told the court that his client accepted full responsibility for the 1994 killing. When presiding judge Rupert Stehlin directly asked the defendant to confirm the admission, the 81-year-old responded verbally with “yes” after nodding in agreement.
Prosecutors have formally charged the defendant with treacherous murder committed for base motives, specifically noting the crime was carried out to satisfy his sexual urges. Court officials have scheduled eight total days for the trial proceedings, with a final verdict anticipated to be delivered by September.