German Prosecutors charge that the 30 year-old Afghan man killed the woman in front of two of her children because she had converted to Christianity.
Previously, the 38-year-old woman had asked the man if he also wanted to convert to Christianity, a request that was "irreconcilable with his Muslim faith," prosecutors told the court in the city of Traunstein.
20 January 2018, 23:54 GMT
Two of her children, aged five and 11, saw how their mother was killed. Other people tried to stop the attacker from hitting him with a shopping cart.
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After he was arrested, the man claimed that he had killed the woman because his asylum seeker status was rejected.
His court hearing will last four days.
