A woman from Germany reportedly searched online to find someone who looked just like her in an attempt to fake her own death. Her quest ended when she discovered a beauty influencer on Instagram with a striking resemblance.
The 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman from Munich, identified only as Sharaban K., allegedly killed 23-year-old Algerian beauty blogger Khadija O. in a brutal attack. According to the New York Post, Sharaban K. lured Khadija O. to Ingolstadt, Germany, under the guise of giving her free beauty products.
Instead, she allegedly stabbed the woman more than 50 times. Investigators reportedly found Khadija O.'s. body in a car registered to Sharaban K. Police began their search and uncovered what they think was Sharaban K.'s unbelievable plot.
The women apparently became friends on social media.
Khadija O. was a beauty influencer who Sharaban K. believed looked just like her. According to People, Sharaban K. befriended Khadija O. on Instagram, where the two messaged about beauty products. Sharaban K. promised Khadija O. a cosmetics kit if she agreed to meet her in Eppingen, Germany.
According to authorities, on the day of the killing, Khadija O. met Sharaban K. and her boyfriend, Shequir K., who allegedly drove her to a forest and stabbed her to death, People reported.
Sharaban K.'s family reported her missing.
According to People, prosecutors said Sharaban K. told her family she was meeting her ex-husband in Ingolstadt. When she did not return that evening, her family went to look for her in the area where she had planned her visit. The family soon uncovered her vehicle and the grisly scene.
Both her family and investigators believed the body was Sharaban K's.
Kadija O.'s body was completely disfigured when the family discovered her body, the Post reported. Because her body was in Sharaban K.'s car and the two looked so much alike, it made sense for investigators to initially believe they had found Sharaban K.'s body.
"However, a subsequent autopsy report uncovered that the actual victim was Khadidja O., prompting an investigation into the bizarre case dubbed 'the doppelgänger murder' by German media," the Post reported.
Sharaban K. reportedly searched for a look-alike for quite some time.
Lawyers confirmed that Sharaban spent a reasonable amount of time searching online for her look-alike and had befriended several women on Instagram before she found who she believed was the perfect match, People reported.
"Police were baffled after learning that the victim was not Sharaban K., as initially suspected. They subsequently looked into her social media correspondences, finding that she had connected with multiple look-a-likes. They formed the theory that she had murdered one of the women in a wild bid to fake her own death," according to the Post.
She and Shariq were eventually tracked down and arrested.
According to multiple sources, the pair was arrested in August 2022 and have been charged with murder.
"After the investigation, it can be assumed that [Sharaban] wanted to go into hiding due to internal family disputes and faked her own death," said Veronika Grieser of the Ingolstadt state prosecutor's office, per Bild, according to People.
At this time, investigators have yet to uncover the weapon used in the murder. "The murder weapon has still not been found but the burden of proof is overwhelming," police spokesman Andreas Aichele told Bild.
If convicted, the accused killers could spend life in prison. It is unknown whether they have submitted pleas or retained legal representation.
