American woman injured in fatal attack on fellow American tourist near German castle released from hospital

Police in Germany said Monday that a 22-year-old American injured in an attack Thursday near a castle in Germany that led to the death of her 21-year-old American friend has been released from a hospital.

Police spokesperson Holger Stabik said the was able to leave the hospital on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

The woman was hurt when she and her friend were assaulted, allegedly by another American tourist.

Police in the southeast German state of Bavaria confirmed to CBS News that a U.S. national was arrested in connection with the incident, and Stefan Rinke, the mayor of Schwangau, in Bavaria, told local media that all three people involved were American.

Their names haven't been released due to German privacy laws.

The women were hiking near Neuschwanstein Castle, which inspired the castle in Disney's movie "Cinderella" and attracts more than a million tourists a year, when they met a 30-year-old man who told them to follow him down a trail leading to a secret viewpoint.

When the two women followed him, the suspect attacked the 21-year-old victim, Stabik said. Her friend tried to intervene and the man choked her and pushed her down a steep slope. He then attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old, Stabik said, before pushing her down the slope as well.

Both women fell approximately 165 feet.

Rescue workers found the two women and the 21-year-old was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she died of her injuries. Stabik told CBS News on Friday that the 22-year-old woman suffered minor injuries.

"The perpetrator at first moved away from the scene of the crime after the assault," Stabik told journalists on Thursday. "Whether this was a classic escape or not is not entirely known. In any case, he was then arrested a short time later by police officers on the basis of a witness tip in the immediate vicinity of the crime."

Stabik said police have received about two dozen photos and videos on a specially created website, adding that investigators are asking anyone who has more video or images of the suspect and victims to provide them to police.

Eric Abneri was visiting Neuschwanstein Castle from New York and captured video on his phone of the suspect being led away by police.

"His face was covered in deep red scratch marks and his neck as well," Abneri told CBS News on Thursday. "There was clearly a struggle there, and he just had a frown on his face. He didn't say anything. He had a sort of disturbed look."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin told CBS News on Thursday that it was "aware of an incident involving multiple individuals" but declined to provide further information citing "privacy considerations."  

The official said the embassy was communicating with German authorities on the matter.

A spokesperson for prosecutors told the AP it might take as long as four months for them to decide whether to indict the suspect.

CBS News' Anna Noryskiewicz in Berlin and Emmet Lyons in London contributed to this report.

In:
• castle
• Murder
• Germany

Haley Ott

Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.

Twitter