A German woman has been accused of seeking out and killing her lookalike in an attempt to fake her own death.
Sharaban K, a 23-year-old from Munich searched for women online who she shared a resemblance with, before killing one of them, as reported by Sky News.
As is customary in the German legal system, all involved are referred to by their first name and their last initial.
The case has been dubbed the doppelganger murder, the word deriving from a German folktale about an identical spirit, but is now largely used to describe a lookalike that isn't a blood relative.
In August 2022, police discovered the blood-covered body of a woman in Ingolstadt, southern Germany in a parked Mercedes.
The initial report identified the deceased as Sharaban K, but further investigations raised questions about the true identity of the murder victim.
The victim was eventually named as Khadidja O, a 23-year-old beauty blogger from Baden-Wurttemberg who shared physical similarities to Sharaban K such as straight black hair, a similar complexion, and heavy make-up.
On August 19 Sharaban K was detained alongside a friend for plotting the murder and the full extent of their plans have been revealed this week.
Prosecutors allege that the accused sought out Khadidja O in an attempt to fake her own death so she could go into hiding following a family dispute.
Veronika Grieser, of the Ingolstadt state prosecutor's office, revealed that Sharaban K had reached out to multiple women that she shared a physical resemblance with a week before the murder.
Using aliases, she allegedly attempted to meet with these women, all of which were unsuccessful until Khadidja O agreed, under the impression she was attending a "cosmetics offer."
Sharaban K and Sheqir K are accused of picking up the victim before taking her to a forested area where they allegedly stabbed her to death.
The pair allegedly drove the deceased to Ingolstadt before leaving their Mercedes and Khadidja O's body in a residential area on the banks of the Danube. The car was discovered on August 16 just before midnight by Sharaban K's parents.
"The crime weapon has not been found, but the evidence is overwhelming. The victim was killed with over 50 thrusts of the knife, the face completely disfigured," Police spokesperson Andreas Aichele told the German tabloid newspaper Bild.
"You don’t get a case like this every day, especially with such a spectacular twist," he added. "On the day we found the body there was nothing to prepare us for this development."
An arrest warrant for Sharaban K and Sheqir K was issued this week, and if found guilty, the pair could face life behind bars.
