German Couple Kills Ukrainian Refugee With Hammer and Steals Her Baby Amid Infertility Struggles

A horrifying case in Germany has shocked the world as details emerge about a couple accused of murdering a Ukrainian refugee and her mother to abduct her newborn child. The couple, reportedly struggling with infertility, is now on trial for the brutal crime that has left the victims' family devastated and the public outraged.

The Double Murder

The defendants, identified as Marco Otto, 43, and Ina Oksana-Judith, 45, allegedly posed as volunteers to meet and eventually target Marharyta Razaz, 27, and her mother, Maryna Stetsenko, 51. The two women had fled Ukraine and connected with the couple in January 2024 through a Telegram group designed to assist Ukrainian refugees.

Marharyta, pregnant at the time, sought translation assistance as she prepared for the birth of her baby. Five weeks after her daughter, Mia, was born, the couple invited Marharyta and Maryna to a restaurant. According to prosecutors, Otto and Oksana-Judith drugged the women during the meal.

When Maryna became ill, the couple offered to take her to a hospital, only to drive her to a secluded lake. There, Otto is accused of bludgeoning her to death with a rubber hammer before dumping her body into the water. Returning to collect Marharyta and Mia, they told the young mother that Maryna had suffered a heart attack.

The couple then drove Marharyta and Mia to a nearby river, where Otto allegedly killed Marharyta in the same manner before burning her body.

Discovery and Arrest

German authorities discovered Marharyta's charred remains near the Rhine River on 7 March 2024, sparking a manhunt. Just days later, police found Mia alive and arrested Otto and Oksana-Judith on 13 March. Maryna's body was recovered from Krummes Loch fishing lake on 20 March.

Mia has since been reunited with her aunt, Eugenia, in Ukraine, where she is now in her care.

The ongoing trial at the Mannheim District Court has revealed the depths of desperation and cruelty behind the crime. The couple reportedly intended to raise Mia as their own after suffering multiple miscarriages. Otto admitted to the murders, stating he was under the influence of cocaine and amphetamines at the time.

'I am disgusting,' Otto told the court, while his partner described the murders as a 'big mistake.' She lamented the impact on Mia and her own children, who are now left without a mother.

If convicted, the couple faces life imprisonment, the maximum penalty in Germany, where the death sentence is banned.

Violence Against Ukrainians in Germany

The tragic case is part of a disturbing trend of violence involving Ukrainians in Germany.

April 2024: Two Ukrainian soldiers recovering from combat were stabbed to death at a shopping centre in Murnau. The suspect is a 57-year-old Russian man who openly supports his country's war in Ukraine.

June 2024: Nine-year-old Valeriia, who had fled to Germany with her mother in 2022, was murdered on her way to school. Her body was found in a forest days later, and her mother's ex-boyfriend, a 36-year-old Moldovan man, was arrested for the crime.

The brutal murders of Marharyta and Maryna have highlighted the dangerous consequences of personal despair coupled with societal pressures. Their cases serve as grim reminders of the lengths to which some individuals will go and the urgent need for stronger protections for those fleeing war.