A teenage Afghan asylum seeker has been arrested after he reportedly confessed to murdering the daughter of a senior EU official.

Maria Ladenburger, a 19-year-old medical student, was raped and killed shortly after leaving a student party in Freiburg, southern Germany, on October 16.

According to German media reports, the 17-year-old suspect will stand trial early next year.

Ms Ladenburger was the daughter of Dr Clemens Ladenburger, who since 2008 has been an assistant to the director of the European Commission's legal wing.

The Freiburg University student, who reportedly volunteered at a local refugee shelter in her spare time, was raped before drowning in the River Dreisam.

A team of 40 investigators were put to work combing the area for clues, and eventually came across a black scarf that belonged to Ms Ladenburger on the riverbed.

They also found a seven-inch strand of dark hair that had been dyed blonde, but drew a blank after comparing the DNA on both items to their own records.