A Muslim man murdered a Catholic pensioner while he robbed her house and left her body with her hands tied and holding a cross, a court in Germany has heard.
He also left religous graffiti in Arabic around the house.
Abubaker C, aged 27, denies murder and claims he has been framed by a religious conspiracy.
The court heard that he strangled the woman, aged 70, as she slept in bed with a telephone cable after he broke into her home in Bad Friedrichshall last May where she lived with her 74-year-old husband.
His DNA was found at the scene and an imprint of the sole of his red shoes and fibres from his jacket. Police found a stolen mobile phone and a diary in which he had written: "It's payback time!"
The defendent told the court he came from a Pakistani family that had moved to Saudi Arabia. When asked his name, he told the court: "I am known by many names."
Speaking in Punjabi, he answered other questions by saying: "I want to talk about my life." He insisted the charges were a "lie".
Besides leaving Arabic slogans on the walls, he also wrote in English on the wall: "It's payback time."
The victim's husband, Günter M., a retired teacher, told the court his wife was a Catholic from a Silesian family and was "the emotional centre of the family". They had been married since 1967, were committed churchgoers and had two daughters and grandchildren. On the day of the murder, they had just celebrated the birthday of one granddaughter.
Günter M and his wife slept in separate bedrooms because of his snoring. He said that on the night of the crime, he wished his wife a "blessed night" and made the sign of the cross on her forehead. It was the next mornng when he found her tied up under the duvet, a cross that had been hanging on the wall in the kitchen in her hands and the furniture in disarray.
There was no suggestion in the court of Islamic State involvement. Instead, the court heard that the defendent was a user of marijuana.
The case, being covered by Spiegel, is being heard by judge Roland Kleinschroth at a court in Heilbronn. It is expected to last through February.
