A German couple on Tuesday confessed to killing a Ukrainian refugee and her mother in March 2024 in order to steal her baby.

On the first day of the trial at Mannheim District Court, the two defendants admitted to killing the 27-year-old Ukrainian and her 51-year-old mother.

“I regret everything I have done,” the man said in a statement read out by lawyers. His wife added, “I made a big mistake.”

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the couples have four children, including one son together.

After suffering a number of miscarriages and failed fertility treatment, they planned to kidnap a new-born girl and pass her off as their daughter.

“We really wanted to have a daughter together, that was my wife’s most fervent wish,” the man said on Tuesday.

The couple intentionally targeted refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, joining a group on Telegram to offer help with translation.

The 27-year-old Ukrainian was living with her mother and baby in refugee accommodation in the south-western German town of Wiesloch when she came into contact with the couple.

On March 6, 2024, they allegedly sedated the two women in a restaurant before the man killed the two women with a blunt object in two separate locations.

They also sank the grandmother’s body in a lake and burnt the mother’s body before driving home with the baby.

The body of the 27-year-old woman was discovered by a passer-by on the banks of the Rhine the next day, with police arresting the couple and found the baby on March 13.

The couple has since been in custody, while the baby has returned to Ukraine in the custody of her aunt, who is a plaintiff in the case.

The aunt’s lawyer has already announced that he will apply for life imprisonment for the couple, who have been charged with murder and kidnapping.

A total of nine trial days have been scheduled for the proceedings, with a verdict expected to be announced on 21. (dpa/NAN)