Crime
German-Iraqi woman murders Algerian look-alike to fake own death
The murder of an Algerian blogger in Germany was part of a doppelganger plot created by a 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman trying to fake her own death, The Guardian reported, citing news reports in the country.
The victim was found brutally murdered in August when the body was discovered in a Mercedes vehicle in Ingolstadt. She was initially identified as Munich-based beautician Sharaban K, also 23 years old.
In Germany, the legal system permits victims and accused to be referred to by their first names and an initial from their surnames.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Members of Sharaban’s family identified the body but the following day’s autopsy report cast doubt on the woman’s identity.
An investigation concluded that the victim was Khadidja O, an Algerian beauty blogger.
Prosecutors believe it was the 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman who carried out the murder, concluding that she sought out a lookalike on Instagram to murder and fake her own death.
Sharaban is accused of murder with an accomplice, a 23-year-old Kosovan, identified by news outlets as Sheqir K.
According to German news reports, Khadidja agreed to meet and had allegedly been picked up in a car by Sheqir and Sharaban on the day of the murder.
Further details in the case revealed that Sharaban had contacted several lookalikes on social media platforms using aliases.
It’s alleged the accused bundled Khadidja into the car, drove to Ingolstadt, and left her body in a residential district. It was discovered on August 16, 2022.
In the woods outside Ingolstadt, the accused pair allegedly stabbed the victim to death with a knife at least 50 times.
The weapon has not been found. The dead woman’s face was left disfigured.
Warrants for the arrests of Sheqir K and Sharaban K were issued on January 26 and 27, and the pair now face life sentences if convicted.
Sharaban and Khadidja shared similarities, both with long black hair, and with cosmetic makeup looked alike.
In Germany the case has become known as the “doppelganger murder.” Although Sharaban was arrested in August, it is only now that details about the murderer’s motive have been released.
It’s believed that the accused wanted to go into hiding on the back of a family dispute and pursued a lookalike to murder to accomplish the plan.
“You don’t get a case like this every day, especially with such a spectacular twist,” police spokesperson, Andreas Aichele told German national daily, Bild.
Read more:
UK vows to deport foreign criminals under ‘modern slavery’ overhaul
Eight killed by gunmen at South Africa birthday party: Police
