Women Shoved Into Ravine at German Castle ID’d as Recent University Graduates
Eva Liu, 21, plunged 165 feet to her death on a trip to the popular Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria while her friend Kelsey Chang, 22, reportedly survived thanks to a fallen tree.
Ayhan Uyanik/Reuters
The two women thrown into a ravine after a 30-year-old U.S. national allegedly sexually assaulted and attacked the American tourists at a German fairytale castle have been identified as recent university graduates, the Daily Mail reported.
Eva Liu, 21, plunged 165 feet to her death Wednesday on a trip to the Neuschwanstein castle with her friend Kelsey Chang, 22. Both had graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign just last month with degrees in computer science and computer engineering, respectively.
Local authorities claim the suspect assaulted Liu near the Marienbruecke bridge and pushed Chang off the steep slope when she tried to come to her friend’s rescue. The man then strangled Liu before thrusting her off the cliff of the tourist hotspot.
Füssen mountain rescue service personnel reached the pair of graduates, who were airlifted by helicopter to the hospital. There, Liu died overnight while Chang miraculously survived with only bruises and a laceration. A fallen tree appeared to have broken the 22-year-old’s fall, according to the Daily Mail.
The 30-year-old suspect initially fled the scene of the attack before police arrested him on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and a sexual offense. His identity remains unknown. Daily Mail has learned that all three American tourists had been staying at the same hotel and traveled to the castle together, but seemingly did not know one another.
At Neuschwanstein, there was a rescue of multiple people from a helicopter and one was taken out in handcuffs, seemingly after they fell from a cliff and climbed over railings. pic.twitter.com/yVGqqSRlwX
— Eric Abneri (@thefrownyface) June 14, 2023
A judge ruled Thursday that the man be held in jail pending a possible indictment. Officials are still working to verify which U.S. state he is from, and a police spokesperson confirmed “he did have his say” in court but didn’t want to reveal the suspect’s words.
“Our University of Illinois family is mourning the senseless death of Ms. Liu and the attack on Ms Chang,” UIUC associate chancellor Robin Kaler wrote in a statement. “[They] should have been able to celebrate such an important accomplishment without the fear of such a tragic outcome.”
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