Two Berlin women killed on Cape Verde: 19-year-old silent as trial opens

A trial over a triple killing on Cape Verde opened Wednesday before the juvenile chamber of the regional court in Trier. The victims include two women from Berlin, a 45-year-old and her 20-year-old daughter. The older woman's 58-year-old partner, from the Aachen area, was also killed. His son from an earlier marriage, a 19-year-old German from the Eifel region, is charged with murder and manslaughter.

Prosecutors allege that at about 4 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2025, in a holiday apartment in Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente, the young man first attacked the 20-year-old as she slept, which they classify as murder by stealth. He is then accused of killing his father and his father's partner, inflicting numerous stab and cut wounds. The 45-year-old managed to alert a relative in Germany via a messaging app. The suspect was arrested in Lisbon and extradited to Germany in mid-January.

On the first day, the 19-year-old did not respond to the charges. His lawyer said a statement would follow and voiced "considerable doubts" about the prosecution's account. Prosecutors say no motive has been established. The defendant is presumed innocent. The trial resumes Nov. 4, with hearings scheduled through Dec. 2.