German couple go on trial over ‘House of Horrors’
A GERMAN couple accused of luring women to their village home with personal ads went on trial yesterday over charges they tortured and killed two of them.
Wilfried and Angelika Wagener allegedly entrapped at least eight women over the years in what the media has dubbed the “House of Horrors” case.
Prosecutors accuse the couple of cutting up one 33-year-old woman in 2014, deep-freezing her remains and later burning them in the fireplace of their home in the central German village of Hoexter.
At the trial’s opening the 46-year-old man, bearded with a black jacket, and the woman, 47, wearing a brown ponytail looked impassive as they sat in the dock, separated by justice officials.
They were arrested in May after their car broke down while they were transporting a 41-year-old woman with severe head injuries who died hours later in hospital.
Chief prosecutor Ralf Meyer yesterday outlined details of the case that has sparked widespread revulsion in Germany amid fears the couple may have had more victims.
Meyer said the couple drew women to their home with personal newspaper ads in the man’s name, then colluded to entrap and abuse them and force them into “servitude.”
The couple sought to systematically break their victims’ spirit through beatings, ripping out their hair, chaining them up and exposing them to severe cold, he told the court in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia state.
In one case they allegedly held a woman for over three months in 2011-12 before finally allowing her to leave. The woman, now aged 51, only dared to contact police after hearing of the couple’s arrest this year.
Aside from the sadistic power games, the two also allegedly stole or extorted money from their victims. Police found about 1US$) in heir home.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.