American woman who was ‘pushed to her death’ had been ‘promised a romantic view by US ‘tourist’
The American women who were attacked by a tourist from Michigan near a Cinderella castle in Germany and thrown into a ravine had been promised “a romantic view” by their attacker.
Kelsey Chang, 22, was released from hospital in the town of Murnau am Staffelesse on Saturday after suffering only cuts and bruises from the massive fall when a tree branch grabbed her.
Her friend Eva Liu, 21, died after being pushed down the same steep slope by another American tourist after an attempted sexual assault at Bavaria’s famous Neuschwanstein Castle.
The students were allegedly attacked by Troy B, a 30-year-old man from Lincoln Park, Michigan, who is now charged with murder and will not be extradited from Germany.
The tourist, who traveled to the country in early June and stayed in a boarding house in Oberstdorf, had seduced the women with a romantic outlook often used in selfies before launching his attack.
Kelsey Chang (left), 22, who miraculously survived being thrown 50 meters into a ravine near Germany’s ‘Cinderella’ castle, has left hospital. The women were promised a “romantic view” by Troy B
According to police, the women encountered the 30-year-old American tourist on a trail on or near the Marienbrucke Bridge, which is extremely popular as it offers views of the 19th-century Neuschwanstein Castle – which attracts about 1.4 million visitors a year
The two women are said to have been attacked around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Police say they met the man at the Marienbrucke Bridge, a narrow pedestrian bridge that rises 300 feet above a gorge at its highest point — with a stream and waterfall below — offering sweeping views of the castle.
Police said Troy B allegedly persuaded them to follow him down a secluded trail leading to a good vantage point, where he “physically assaulted” the 21-year-old.
When her boyfriend tried to intervene, he allegedly strangled her and pushed her down a steep slope. The police assume that an ‘attempted sex offense’ was then committed against the 21-year-old before she was also pushed off the slope.
She fell about 50 meters below her friend.
The pair were flown away by helicopter, but the 21-year-old woman tragically died in hospital from injuries sustained in the fall.
The 30-year-old American man has been held on charges of murder, attempted murder and one sex offense. He was led away from the scene in handcuffs with video taken by another tourist with scratches on his face.
Police said he “had his say in court” after he refused to speak to investigators. Under German law, suspects must be brought before a judge in a closed-door hearing before the end of the calendar day after their arrest if detectives intend to keep them in custody.
The three tourists all stayed in the same hotel in Munich. The victims did not know their attacker, but were on an excursion to the world-famous castle on the same day. Up to 6,000 people a day visit the castle.
Footage shows the scene from a distance, with several tourists gathered looking out at a rock face hundreds of feet away, as the helicopter descends.
The video zooms in and the woman becomes visible on the side of the cliff, close to where the fallen tree appears to have stopped her fall.
The rescuers are lowered to her. Another clip published by MailOnline showed one of the two women being airlifted away.
The suspect, who is referred to in the German media as Troy B, fled, but was caught on Wednesday afternoon after a massive police operation with 25 emergency vehicles and taken to a police station in nearby Fuessen.
An American tourist who miraculously survived after being thrown 50 meters off a cliff during a sight-seeing trip to Germany’s ‘Cinderella’ castle was saved from near-certain death by a fallen tree, footage of her shows rescue.
While the earlier clip showed the rescue efforts, the new clip contextualizes the scene — showing just how close the surviving American tourist came to falling even further down the cliff that runs to the south of Neuschwanstein Castle.
If it weren’t for the tree, it seems she could have fallen hundreds of feet more and would have been highly unlikely to survive.
The suspect, Troy B, fled, but was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles. He was taken to a police station in the nearby town of Fuessen.
Witness video posted online showed a man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap being handcuffed by police.
The construction of Neuschwanstein Castle was completed in 1886 after almost 20 years. It is located in the Swabia region of Bavaria, close to the Alps and the Austrian border.
It was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who wanted a holiday home to escape from the Bavarian capital of Munich.
He paid for the castle from his personal fortune and through extensive loans, but he never saw it completed. He died in 1886, shortly before it opened.
Since then, more than 61 million people have visited it.