US tourist Eva Liu, 21, mourned after brutal murder at German castle
- Liu and her friend Kelsey Chang, 22, were hiking when they encountered a US man, who apparently tried to sexually assault Liu and threw both women off a cliff
- Chang survived the 50-metre (164-foot) fall, but Liu, who was taken to hospital by mountain rescuers, died the same night
A US hiker who fell to her death during a savage attack in Germany and a friend who tried to protect her had just graduated together from the University of Illinois with computer degrees.
Authorities have not released the names of anyone involved in the June 14 incident due to German privacy rules. But the Reverend Mark Zhang of Living Water Evangelical Church in Naperville, Illinois, said on Tuesday that 21-year-old Eva Liu and her parents attended the church and Liu’s parents told him that she had been killed.
“It’s a very tough situation,” Zhang said. “Our words are powerless. We just mourn together with them and pray for them. When one family suffers, our whole church suffers.”
Weihan Chang of Normal, Illinois, said that his daughter, 22-year-old Kelsey Chang, survived the attack. She was released from a hospital on Sunday and was on a plane bound for home on Tuesday. He said he had not had a chance to talk to her very much.
“She’s pretty damaged by the incident,” Weihan Chang said. “It’s life-changing.”
According to authorities, Liu and Chang were hiking near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany on the afternoon of June 14. The two women encountered a 30-year-old man from Michigan on the path. He lured them onto a trail leading to a viewpoint, according to police.
