Eva Liu, Naperville, Illinois, recent UIUC graduate identified as US woman sexually assaulted and pushed to her death by US tourist at Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle.
A U.S woman who was killed when a man threw her 160ft down a ravine from a castle that inspired Disney’s Cinderella has been named.
Eva Liu, 21, from Naperville, Illinois, was identified as the woman who was killed when a man, also from the US, attacked her and her friend after luring them to a famous beauty spot near the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
She was with her friend Kelsey Chang, 22, who survived. Both women were traveling through Europe after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) last month.
German police arrested an American man after he allegedly shoved two women, also American, into a gorge killing one near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Police said the suspect led the two women, aged 21 and 22, to a trail nearby when he attacked the 21-year-old. pic.twitter.com/KivyUPJWNd
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) June 16, 2023
Chance meeting along hiking trail
The two women met the man earlier that day along a hiking trail and agreed to travel with him for a better view of surrounding sites, the dailymail reported.
A statement from the associate chancellor of the UIUC confirmed the two had recently graduated with computer science and computer engineering degrees.
Robin Kaler described the death of Liu as ‘senseless’.
She said in a statement: ‘Our University of Illinois family is mourning the senseless death of Ms Liu and the attack on Ms Chang.
‘Both had just graduated in May and should have been able to celebrate such an important accomplishment without the fear of such a tragic outcome.’
Suspect convinced victims to join him him at lookout point
The US man, who has not yet been identified, killed Liu and seriously injured Chang by throwing them 160ft down a ravine after sexually assaulting one and brawling with her companion at the famous ‘Disney’ castle, German authorities said.
The assault took place on Wednesday at the 19th Century Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, which is located at the foothills of the Alps and thought to have been the inspiration for Disney’s “Cinderella” castle.
The 30-year-old suspect according to German police had met the two women the same day on a narrow bridge that crosses the 300-ft gaping gorge surrounding the castle.
The male suspect is said to have convinced the pair to accompany him to a lookout point at the popular tourist attraction, but when they got there he ‘physically attacked’ the younger of the two, police said.
Her friend then tried to defend her, but he choked her before pushing her down a steep slope as well.
Police said he then tried to carry out a sexual offence before he tried to push the 21-year-old down the slope too. She fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), ending up close to her friend.
No known motive
‘According to the current state of knowledge, an attempted sexual offence to the detriment of the 21-year-old must be assumed,’ said police in a statement in English.
‘The 22-year-old wanted to help, so he choked her and pushed her down the slope.’
Both fell around 165ft down the gorge and had to be airlifted out, but tragically the 21-year-old woman died in hospital. The second woman survived after a fallen tree stopped her from plunging all the way into the ravine.
The 22-year-old woman is still in hospital, German media reported.
The suspect fled but a massive manhunt was launched involving 25 emergency vehicles and he was eventually tracked down.
German cops told local media that they are treating the case as murder and attempted murder, in addition to the sexual offence.
They are currently working to reconstruct the order of events, police added.
Police are looking for witnesses who might have seen the attack happening or anything suspicious prior to it. Police are also asking visitors of Neuschwanstein to upload any photos or videos they may have taken on June 14 to a website of the Bavarian police department.
Fairytale castle and dream aspiration of former German king
The Neuschwanstein Castle, in the German Alps close in southern Bavaria and close to the Austrian border, is one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions.
It was the retreat of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who built it in the 19th century and reclused himself there after losing in the Austro-Prussian war.
He paid for it with his personal fortune, but the castle wasn’t completed in his lifetime – Ludwig died in 1886 – and was finally finished in 1996.
The castle is believed to have inspired Walt Disney when he drew his fairytale castle.
