An American tourist threw two women off a 300-ft high bridge into a ravine after sexually assaulting one of them near a German beauty spot tourist attraction.
The attack, which left one of the women dead, happened at Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, local media reports.
According to German tabloid Bild, the three people involved were all American tourists.
The women were on the Marienbrücke bridge, which spans a ravine near the castle. It has a 300ft drop.
The man was reported to have sexually assaulted one of the women, before a scuffle broke out when her friend rushed to her aid.
The man then threw both of them over the railing and into the gorge below.
One of the women, 21, died in hospital overnight while the other is in hospital with serious injuries.
The second woman is said to be conscious, and has given police an account of what happened.
The man is believed to have lured the two women onto an overgrown path near the Marien Bridge in the hills behind the castle after meeting them on a hike.
According to the account of the woman who survived, he told them the path led to a view of the castle.
When the trio reached the edge of the gorge, the man assaulted the younger woman, who was 21.
Her 22-year-old companion tried to come to her aid, leading the man to strangle her and push her off the edge.
The man, aged 30, was arrested on Wednesday after a huge police search in the hills around the building, which is said to have inspired the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
Footage showed the man being led from the scene in handcuffs.
A helicopter was deployed as part of the rescue effort to retrieve the women from the bottom of the gorge.
Chief Public Prosecutor Thomas Hörmann told Bild: ‘The crime happened on Wednesday around 2:40 p.m. The two tourists met the man on a hiking tour east of the Marienbrücke. And joined him.’
He said the 21-year-old woman was attacked and her friend rushed to her aid.
‘The 22-year-old wanted to help, so he choked her and pushed her down the slope.’
The motive for the attack is still unclear, while all parties remain unnamed.
