The 28-year-old defendant remained silent during his appearance in the Münster Regional Court on Monday.

Prosecutors allege the asylum seeker from Nigeria brutally murdered the woman in February by stabbing her 22 times in the throat and upper body. She later died in hospital as a result of her wounds, but not before reportedly passing on crucial information about her attacker to police.

According to the prosecution, the two had been in a relationship that lasted only a few days. Investigators say the suspect acted out violently because he wanted the 22-year-old for himself and couldn't stand the idea of her with someone else.

At the time, the woman had been working as a volunteer at a refugee center run by Catholic charity Caritas in Ahaus, near the Dutch border.

The suspect was arrested in Switzerland two days after her death and was then extradited at the request of German authorities to face trial.

nm/kms (dpa, AFP)