Iraqi Prostitute Confesses to Murder of German Designer
November 3, 2005
"I killed him," Herish Ali Abdullah, 25, told Judge Manfred Götzl on the second day of his high-profile trial for murder and robbery. "Yes, I wrapped a cord around his throat and pulled it tight."
He said that Moshammer, an outlandish fixture of Munich high-society who created clothes for celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, then fell to the ground unconscious.
Abdullah, who had been more evasive in his testimony Wednesday, had previously told police that he killed the flamboyant designer in January because he refused to pay him as promised for sex.
Moshammer, 64, had picked up the asylum-seeker at Munich's main train station and reportedly offered him 2,000 euros ($2,400) to go to bed with him.
Police arrested Abdullah two days later after finding his DNA on the telephone cord apparently used to strangle the designer.
Moshammer, a regular on the talk show and gala circuit, was known for his jet-black bouffant coiffure and outrageous attire, and was almost always accompanied by his trademark Yorkshire terrier, Daisy.
Apart from Austrian-born Schwarzenegger, now governor of California, Moshammer designed for such celebrities as Spanish tenor Jose Carreras and the Las Vegas-based magicians Siegfried and Roy.
His murder shocked Germany and has been the subject of blanket coverage in the press.