(Photos) Nigerian asylum seeker kills girlfriend in Germany

A Nigerian asylum seeker in Germany under false pretenses is on trial in Muenster for stabbing and killing his girlfriend earlier this year.

Prosecutors say “Anthony I.,” 28, brutally murdered Soopika Paramanathan, a 22-year-old German student known locally as the “Angel of Ahaus” for her volunteer work with refugees, the Daily Mail reported. German police have not released Anthony I.’s full last name.

Anthony I. attacked Paramanathan on Feb. 11 after she ended their relationship, prosecutors say, allegedly stabbing her repeatedly with a long-bladed knife in her head, neck and breasts. She sprayed his face with pepper spray in defense and was raced to a local hospital but later died after suffering substantial blood loss.

Anthony I. was stuffing Paramanathan’s body into a large suitcase on the street when witnesses said they spotted him. He escaped from the crime scene and was caught by police in Switzerland two days later.

Paramanathan’s father, Sivasamboo, said his daughter “felt threatened by him” in the days leading up to the attack and was afraid, according to German tabloid Bild.

The couple met in 2016 at a local refugee home in Ahaus, Germany, where Anthony I. was living and Paramanathan volunteered. Anthony I. came to Germany in 2015, writing in his asylum application that he was forced to leave his country for being homosexual and he had fought against the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria. The application was in the process of being rejected.

A verdict is expected on Sept. 20, and Anthony I. could face life in prison in connection with the homicide.