Eva Liu
Schloss Neuschwanstein

von Neuschwanstein Castle am 18.06.2023 - 12:05 Uhr | melden

Schloss Neuschwanstein liegt in der Nähe der Gemeinde Schwangau und der Stadt Füssen im Allgäu Deutschland German Bayern

Eva Liu was attacked at the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany (Picture: INstagram/Linkedin)
A woman who was killed when a man threw her down a castle cliff has been named as Eva Lui.
The 21-year-old from Naperville, Illinois, died after a man, also from the US, attacked her and her friend at the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
Her friend, Kelsey Chang, 22, survived.
The pair had met a fellow American tourist on a hiking path on Wednesday afternoon, local police said.
He reportedly then lured them to a viewpoint area near to the Marienbruecke bridge.
The man then ‘physically attacked’ Eva, police said.
When Kelsey tried to intervene, he choked her and pushed her down a steep slope, they added.
The man then allegedly attempted to sexually assault Eva before pushing her down the slope as well.
A man is led away in handcuffs following the fatal attack (Picture: PA)
Both Eva and Kelsey had graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) last month.
The University said: ‘Our University of Illinois family is mourning the senseless death of Ms Liu and the attack on Ms Chang.
‘Both had just graduated in May and should have been able to celebrate such an important accomplishment without the fear of such a tragic outcome.’
Neuschwanstein, in southern Bavaria and close to the Austrian border, is one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions. It is said to have been the inspiration for Disney’s ‘Cinderella’ castle.
Naperville woman killed in Germany by man who threw her and friend from cliff near King Ludwig’s castle
A woman killed in Germany this week after a man reportedly threw her and a friend down a ravine near the famed Neuschwanstein Castle was from Naperville, according to media reports.
The two women, identified as Eva Liu, 21, and Kelsey Chang, 22, of Bloomington, by the Daily Mail, were walking on a trail in Schwangau Wednesday when they were approached by a 30-year-old American man who offered to show them a hidden scenic lookout near the Marienbrücke, a pedestrian bridge that offers a view of the castle, Bavarian police said.




The man, who is in police custody but not yet identified, steered them to an area where he attacked Liu, police said. When Chang attempted to stop him, he threw her down a 165-foot ravine. After attempting to sexually assault Liu, he threw her down the same steep slope, the report said.
A mountain rescue team recovered the women, with Chang taken to a local hospital in serious condition and Liu transported by helicopter to another hospital, where she died the next day, police said.
The Marienbrücke pedestrian bridge offers a view of the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Eva Liu, 21, of Naperville, was killed and her friend Kelsey Chang, 22, of Bloomington, was seriously injured when a man allegedly threw them from a cliff near the bridge, according to police. (Frank Rumpenhorst/AP)
Police are holding the suspect as they investigate him on charges of murder, attempted murder and sexual assault, according to The Associated Press.
Liu and Chang were longtime friends, having graduated together from the Illinois Math & Science Academy in Aurora in 2019 and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May. Both received degrees in computer science.
Liu had completed an internship at Microsoft as a software engineering intern last year and had been working as a teaching assistant for University of Illinois’ Engineering City Scholars program in Chicago, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The university issued a statement in response to the attack.
“Our University of Illinois family is mourning the senseless death of Ms. Liu and the attack on Ms. Chang,” Associate Chancellor Robin Kaler said.
“Both had just graduated in May and should have been able to celebrate such an important accomplishment without the fear of such a tragic outcome. Our thoughts are with Ms. Chang as she recovers and with both of their families as they grieve.”
The Math and Science Academy also released a statement: “Eva was a dedicated, academically talented and involved student. ... On behalf of our administration, faculty and staff, we are saddened by this loss and we grieve for and with her family and loved ones. The loss of any student, particularly in such a tragic way, deeply hurts us all.”
Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, witnessed the suspect’s arrest and said the man appeared to have scratches on his face.
“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Abneri told the AP. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”
Abneri said he and friends reached the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived. They watched rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.
“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff,” he said.

A danger sign on the way to the Pollat gorge, near the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany. German police are appealing for photos and videos of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a steep slope, killing one of them, Eva Liu, of Naperville. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AP)
Abneri described it as “a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill.”
“They did an unbelievable job,” he said.
Neuschwanstein Castle, built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, sits in the foothills of the Alps on Germany’s southern edge, a website for the attraction says. Construction began in 1869 but was never completed and never served as a home for the king, who died in 1886.
It was later opened to the public and is considered one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions, visited by as many as 1.3 million people every year. It’s said to have been the inspiration for various castles used in Disney movies and amusement parks.
The Associated Press contributed.