German couple jailed for raping and murdering Chinese student to satisfy their dark sexual fantasies

A German court on Friday (4 August) sentenced a couple for sexually assaulting a Chinese student and killing her in May 2016.

Sebastian Flech was handed a life term while his then girlfriend Xenia Lang was given five years and six months for their roles in the death of 25-year-old Yangjie Li in Dessau, Germany.

Judge Uda Schmidt referred to the tragedy as an "incomprehensible crime" and said: "The student had to die so that the defendants could live out their sexual fantasies."

The twisted pair have also been ordered to pay damages for pain and suffering amounting to €60,000 in total, The Local de reported.

The gruesome killing of the architecture student had rocked the whole of Germany.

The District Court of Dessau-Rosslau heard how Flech and Lang lured Li into the flat under the pretext of an emergency.

The young student had gone for a jog on 11 May, 2016 when the duo approached her and took her to an empty apartment. They then repeatedly raped and tortured her. Court documents say the pair left her to die in the apartment.

Several hours later, they returned to find Li still alive. They then took her away and abandoned her in an underbrush. Flech had apparently smashed her head on a wooden floor, strangled her and tried to drown her in a bucket.

Prosecutors said Li's injuries were so gruesome that experts were unable to pinpoint the exact cause of her death. The pair reportedly remained silent and showed no emotion when the court pronounced its verdict.

Initially, it was thought that Flech's parents, who are police officers, had some role or influence in the case. However that suspicion turned out to be unfounded during the course of the investigation.