A British-German man, referred to as Christian M, has been sentenced to life in prison in Germany for murdering his wife Marta, 40, after initially claiming she had fallen from a hotel balcony during sex. The 60-year-old had been living with his mistress near Frankfurt while under investigation, and prosecutors said he killed his wife to "dispose" of her and start a new life with the other woman. The case matters as a stark example of how forensic and digital evidence, including online search history, unravelled an attempt to disguise a calculated killing as a tragic accident.

Marta died on 18 May 2023 after falling around 200ft from a balcony at the Leonardo Royal hotel in Frankfurt, with CCTV showing her intoxicated shortly before her death and guests reporting screams of "No, no!" moments later. Investigators found Christian M had researched poisons, sedatives, weapons and inheritance law online, ordered a sedative via Etsy, and searched for hotels with balconies and remote precipices the day before the crime, allegedly inspired by a television crime drama. Following a 20-day trial that included a reenactment on the hotel's 22nd-floor balcony, the judge said there was "no doubt" he had murdered his wife, likening his actions to disposing of "a garbage bag", and ordered him to pay her family and children €35,000 in compensation.