A woman in Germany accused of luring her beauty blogger double to death is alleged to have done so by offering her a free skin treatment, it is alleged.
Shahraban K. and her boyfriend Sheqir K., both 24, are accused of attacking blogger Khadidja O. due to her striking resemblance to Shahraban as they both share the same dark hair and complexion.
Shahraban K. is said to have tracked down her doppelganger on social media and, along with her boyfriend, stabbed her 50 times in an attempt to fake her own death.
Prosecutors said the couple aimed many of the cuts and stab wounds at Khadidja O’s face, apparently to make it easier to deceive any investigation.
A court in Ingolstadt, in the state of Bavaria, heard how they thought they could pass off their victim’s body as Shahraban K. so she could escape her strict Iraqi family.
ALLEGED KILLER: Shahraban K (pictured). and his boyfriend Sheqir K., both 24, are on death row by specially selected blogger Khadidja O. due to their striking resemblance to Shahraban as they both share the same dark hair and complexion.
VICTIM: Algerian beauty blogger Khadidja O (pictured) was stabbed 50 times in the German city of Ingolstadt, her face completely disfigured from the number of stab wounds.
Prosecutors say the murderous couple had been contacting random girls on social media who looked enough like Shahraban K. to convince a coroner.
“We have determined that the suspect had decided to go into hiding due to internal family discussions,” state prosecutor Veronika Grieser told local media on Thursday. “She wanted to fake her own death and start a new life.”
On August 9 of last year, the killers sent their victim a message via social media offering him the chance to appear in a video by German rapper Lune.
The couple, who called their fake account ‘lunee.officiel’, told her: ‘You don’t have to do much. It would be great to hear from you. It would be held in Offenburg.’
And they added: “It must be kept secret until the song is released.”
But Khadidja became suspicious and sent a message to the star’s official account. Lune responded by saying, ‘It’s fake, sister. Don’t answer!’
Just two days later, the defendants used another Instagram account to get in touch.
Prosecutor Grieser stated: “This time they offered a beauty treatment that would be free if the victim advertised it on social media.”
They agreed to meet in Eppingen, the victim’s hometown, according to Grieser, where the killers picked up Khadidja in a Mercedes.
“They drove towards Ingolstadt, but they asked the 23-year-old to get out of the car in a forest,” he said. “She was hit in the head at least once and then stabbed 56 times.”
Police spokesman Andreas Aichele explained: “Her face was severely injured by more than 50 stab wounds.”
The killers put their victim’s body back in the car and left it a few blocks from where Shahraban K. lived in Ingolstadt.
Her horrified parents discovered the victim’s body in the Mercedes earlier that day and assumed it was their daughter.
German police officers initially identified the body, which was found in the parked Mercedes, as Shahraban K, just as the alleged killers had planned.
But after the autopsy suspicions arose about the identity of the body and since then the victim has been identified as Khadidja.
Sheqir K, 24, has been charged with murder.
Prosecutors said the couple aimed many of the cuts and stab wounds at Khadidja O’s (pictured) face, apparently to make it easier to deceive any investigation into her death.
Shahraban and Sheqir were tracked down and arrested after forensic examinations and a review of the victim’s tattoos revealed their true identity.
Prosecutors, who plan to question 190 witnesses in court, have charged the duo with murder after extensive DNA checks and the investigation of social media and mobile phone records.
Both are in custody and their full trial is expected to begin shortly.
Neither has ever made a statement or commented on the allegations.
