Verdict due in case of 2 Germans accused of abusing 8 women

BERLIN (AP) — A court in western Germany is scheduled to deliver a verdict Friday in the case of a couple charged with luring women to their home and abusing them so badly that two died.

Prosecutors want the Paderborn regional court to sentence 48-year-old Wilfried W. and his 49-year-old ex-wife Angelika W. — whose surnames weren't released for privacy reasons — to life in prison for murder.

They allege the defendants tortured at least eight women physically and emotionally at their house in nearby Hoexter over several years. One woman died in the hospital and another's body was never found because the defendants allegedly burned it and scattered her ashes around town.

Defense lawyers want the charges to be reduced to attempted murder and bodily harm for Wilfried W. and an acquittal for Angelika W.