The trial of five South Koreans accused of beating to death a 41-year-old female relative in a Frankfurt hotel room has begun in Germany today.
The group allegedly tourtured and killed the woman as part of an exorcist ritual in 2015.
The accused, who face charges of joint murder, are a 45-year-old female cousin of the victim and the cousin's 22-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter, as well as two 16-year-old boys, one of whom is the victim's son.
"They are accused of together cruelly killing the woman on December 5 in a Frankfurt hotel room, in a so-called exorcism," said senior prosecutor Nadja Niesen.
Prosecutors allege the five South Koreans used massive violence on the victim's neck and chest to "cast out the devils".
The victim underwent several hours of pain and torture and finally died by suffocation, prosecutors said.
The family are reportedly Christian with shamanistic influences.
Reuters
