August 28, 2026 / 9:49 AM EDT
/ CBS/AFP
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A German court on Friday sentenced an 81-year-old man to life in jail for the 1994 rape and murder of an American tourist, a conviction made possible by advances in DNA technology.Amy Lopez, 24, was found dead near the historic Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, located on the Rhine river in the western city of Koblenz.Her body was discovered by children and had stab wounds, severe head injuries and injuries consistent with strangling."The victim was strangled, struck on the head with a stone, and stabbed multiple times, ultimately resulting in his death," the Koblenz Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement earlier this year.Police were initially unable to identify the perpetrator but in February this year, three decades after the murder, announced they had arrested a suspect, named only as Hans S., in a retirement home.
The 81-year-old defendant in the Amy Lopez murder case at a sentencing hearing on Aug. 28, 2026, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Koblenz, Germany.
