German kidnap suspect 'was threatened'

A German law student charged with kidnapping and killing the 11-year-son of a prominent banker today failed to get the charges dropped because police had threatened him during interrogation.

Magnus Gaefgen, 27, faces life in jail if convicted by the Frankfurt state court of the kidnap and murder of Jakob von Metzler.

The boy’s body was found four days after he was abducted on his way home from school. He had been dumped in a lake with strangulation marks around his throat.

Gaefgen was seen picking up a €1m ransom paid by the boy’s father, Friedrich von Metzler.

Gaefgen was arrested when despite the payment, the boy was not released. The money was found at his home.

Controversy enveloped the case after recent revelations that Frankfurt police, believing that the boy was still alive, threatened Gaefgen with “intense pain” and put a martial arts trainer on call to use force.

Defence lawyers claimed the intimidation invalidates Gaefgen’s subsequent confession. The trial is due to run until July.