German woman slices lover's head off with circular saw

Gabriele P. sits in the courtroom in Munich Germany, on trial for allegedly killing her boyfriend in 2008. Photo / AP

A woman accused of tying her lover to a bed and then killing him with a circular saw has gone on trial for murder in Germany.

Gabriele P. and Alex H. were having sex at home in their apartment in Munich nearly a decade ago in the winter of 2008 when the relationship "ended in a bloodbath" .

Alex H., 28, was wearing diving goggles covered with masking tape which prevented him from seeing anything, it is claimed.

During the sex he then allegedly asked for her to tie him up, which she did. But lover Gabriele, now 32, then reached for the DIY gadget which she used to kill him and then slice off his head, the court heard.

The incident allegedly unfolded in a student flat in the Haar district of the Bavarian capital.

Police say Gabriele imprisoned Alexander in the loft of the home they shared when she "tired" of him in 2008.It only came to light in early 2016 when an acquaintance of the suspect heard about the incident and alerted the police.

In the nine years they had been together literature student Alexander and trainee teacher Gabriele threw wild sex parties in the house she had inherited from her grandmother, the court heard.

She denies being the instigator of uninhibited group-sex sessions in the building neighbours branded the 'Hippy House' and that she hatched a plot to murder him when she fell in love with someone else.

One night in 2008, according to prosecutors, "the relationship ended in a bloodbath" in the house in Zunftstrasse.

Prosecutors say she used the same saw months later to wrap the body parts in plastic and bury him in the garden of the house - with the help of a new lover, Christian K.

Prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch said: 'She wanted to be rid of him. We assume the man was in a state where he could not defend himself and where he could not know that he would be killed with a circular saw.'

It is alleged she ripped open his chest with the blade and then decapitated him.

Steinkraus-Koch added: "The accused has given information enhancing the action sequence of events that lead us to believe what happened wasn't an accident."

Police say that shortly after the death, Gabriele called Thea E., now 62, the mother of her dead lover, claiming he had "gone off to Romania with another girl."

But Gabriele's downfall came through her new partner who, after drinking at a party, made comments about what really happened to others, the court heard.

He said he only helped her bury the body parts after discovering them accidentally in the loft, it is said.

The friends he spoke to went to the police with their suspicions and the house was raided in January this year. The dismembered body was dug up - but only bones remained.

The crime was allegedly committed in 2008 but recently came to light after a drunken confession by Gabrielle's current boyfriend. Photo / AP

Forensic medicine specialists were able to determine that the victim had been cut up alive with the saw.

Gabriele's defence at her murder trial will be that she was in an abusive relationship.

Her lawyer said: "The relationship was very difficult. My client could not see any way out."

If found guilty of murder she will face a mandatory life sentence.

Christian K. has already been jailed for two years and eight months for his role in disposing of the body. "I did it out of love for Gabriele," he told the court at his sentencing four months ago.

According to her lawyer, Birgit Schwerdt, the woman admits the killing.

"The particular issue is in working out the background and establishing a motive," Schwerdt said.

It will be up to the court to decide whether Gabriele P.'s crime constituted murder, or whether there were mitigating circumstances.