A woman accused of killing her boyfriend with a chainsaw during a sex game in a flat in a Munich suburb goes on trial today in a district court in the southern Germany city.

The defendant, who is now aged 32, allegedly attacked the man while he was tied to a bed in December 2008 in a shared student flat in the district of Haar. According to the indictment, she hacked him to death with the saw before using the weapon to remove his head.

The man’s murder only came to light in early 2016 when an acquaintance of the suspect, known only as Gabriele P., heard about the incident and alerted the police.

Until the middle of 2009, the man’s body had been hidden in the attic of the apartment building.

Camera Icon Gabriele P. in the courtroom in Munich. Credit: Picture: AP

A new boyfriend, who had been caring for the suspect’s cat while she was holiday, then came across the victim. The couple then buried the body in the garden with the help of an accomplice, according to the charges against the woman.

Prosecutors suspect that the murder may have been motivated by an unhappy relationship. The woman was known to have often argued with her partner and he was allegedly psychologically abusive towards her.

According to her lawyer, Birgit Schwerdt, the woman admits to the killing.

“The particular issue is in working out the background and establishing a motive,” Ms Schwerdt said.

Her client is set to give testimony in the trial, although Ms Schwerdt has said that she will ask for this to be done in a private hearing, citing the intimate nature of the case.