Rabat – A German court sentenced yesterday, September 18, a 42-year-old Moroccan truck driver, who killed a 28-year-old German student, to life imprisonment. The Moroccan man, charged with injuries leading to death against Sophia Losche, killed the student after offering the hitchhiking traveler a ride in Leipzig.
On June 14, 2018, Losche wanted to travel hitchhiking from Leipzig to Nuremberg. She was going to take a train from Nuremberg to join her family in the nearby town of Amberg, but she never made it to her destination, according to her brother Andreas Losche.
On June 23, 2018 the student’s body was found in Spain. The truck driver was planning to return to Morocco, but Spanish police arrested him. He was then extradited to German police custody, and his trial started in July 2019.
The judges explained that the driver was sexually harassing the victim during their trip. When they stopped at a gas station, the young woman reacted aggressively and “gave the driver a punch that made him furious,” according to German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse (PNP).
In response, the driver “took a wrench and hit the victim with it, at least four times, until she lost consciousness.” He then proceeded to hit her one last time on the head. The final strike was fatal.
After killing his victim, the driver wrapped the woman’s body in a cover and cleaned the scene of the crime by burning the drops of blood on the asphalt. The killer was arrested in Spain nine days after his crime.
In court, the driver pled guilty to his crimes hoping for a reduced sentence. He also said that he “didn’t mean to kill her, only punish her.” The victim’s family isn’t considering appealing the court’s decision.
