June 16, 2023
GERMANY—A woman who was sexually assaulted and thrown off a 160 ft cliff from a castle that inspired Disney’s Cinderella has been identified.
Eva Liu, 21, from Naperville, Illinois, was murdered Wednesday by a 30-year-old man, also from the United States. He attacked her and her friend after luring them to a famous tourist spot near the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
Liu’s friend, 22-year-old Kelsey Chang, survived the attack. Chang was also thrown off the cliff while trying to save her friend from the assailant.
Both women graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign last month and both women held computer science and computer engineering degrees.
“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,” Associate Chancellor of the UIUC Robin Kaler told The Mirror.
The unidentified American male suspect was reportedly staying at the same hotel as the college grads and was arrested Wednesday by German authorities.
He allegedly lured the women to a trail that overlooked the castle and “physically attacked” Liu.
When Chang tried to help her friend, the male suspect choked her and pushed her off the side of a cliff, where a tree broke her fall, reports The New York Post.
The male suspect then tried to sexually assault Liu before throwing her off a gorge, where she suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital.
Liu was pronounced dead the following day.
The suspect is currently being held on murder, attempted murder, and sexual assault charges, authorities said.
The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who hid out there after losing in the Austro-Prussian war in 1866.
Feature Screenshots via YouTube