32 years after American woman was found murdered in Germany, DNA leads to arrest:

German police said Wednesday they had arrested an 81-year-old man this week suspected of sexually assaulting and murdering an American woman more than 30 years ago.

The body of tourist Amy Lopez, 24, was found in 1994 near the historic Ehrenbreitstein fortress, located on the banks of the Rhine River, in the western city of Koblenz. She was a student from Texas, the German news program Tagesschau reported.

The children discovered his body, which was partially naked and had serious head injuries, according to local authorities.

“The victim was strangled, hit on the head with a stone and stabbed several times, which ultimately caused his death,” the Koblenz prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Police had been puzzled about the case since Lopez’s body was found, but Attorney General Manfred Mannweiler said advances in DNA technology had allowed police to reopen the investigation and arrest the suspect at a nursing home.

“Methods have improved since the crime,” Mannweiler said. “What is possible today was less so in 1994.”

More evidence was gathered after investigators reexamined Lopez’s clothing and about 1,600 samples were analyzed, prosecutors said. In 2024, 30 years after López was found, police offered a €2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest after a trace of male DNA was discovered.

According to the prosecution, more clues also came after the case appeared last year on “Aktenzeichen XY,” a true crime show.

Mannweiler said the arrested man’s DNA had been on file since he was convicted in 1999 of trying to rape a 16-year-old girl in Koblenz and sentenced to seven years in prison. The genetic data was later deleted, but police obtained a new saliva sample from the suspect that was later compared to a trace of DNA found inside Lopez’s jeans, the prosecutor said.

“Everyone feared the case would never be solved,” Mannweiler said. “There’s relief that we can figure it out now.”

Police informed Lopez’s father of the arrest on Monday, Mannweiler added.

“This case should make it clear to everyone that law enforcement does not rest while a serious crime remains unsolved. These cases are not forgotten,” Mannweiler said. “Not even after 32 years.”

Senior Detective Friederike Manheller-Sander of the Koblenz police said officers took over the case after forming a unit last August to examine unsolved cases.

“Behind every case is a person whose life was taken too soon,” he said. “Our commitment is to do everything we can to find answers.”

The suspect is being held in custody in a prison in Rhineland-Palatinate on suspicion of premeditated murder, according to the prosecutor’s office.