The father of asylum seeker Hussein Khavari, who is on trial for raping and murdering German student Maria Ladenburger, claims that his son is not underage but is actually 33-years-old.

The trial of Mr Khavari began earlier this year but one of the main questions of the case has been the Afghan asylum seekers correct age. When he came to Germany he claimed to be 17-years-old and later admitted he was an adult, but now his father has come forward claiming that Khavari is far older than previous estimates Die Welt reports.

Scientist Ursula Wittwer-Backofenin ran medical tests last month in order to prove that Khavari was an adult and could only say he was between the ages of 22 and 29 by using dental scans. While she could only give an estimate of his true age she said he was most likely 25.

The father of Khavari, who lives in Iran, spoke to the court through a telephone conversation admitting that his son was born in January 1984.

Trial Opens for Migrant Accused of Raping, Murdering German Medical Student Maria Ladenburger https://t.co/bFMgRXpuo7 — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 5, 2017

Khavari testified to the court earlier in the trial claiming that he had been so drunk he was kicked out of a bar where he was drinking with his friends. He said he came across Ms Ladenburger and then proceeded to choke her with her own scarf and drown her in a nearby river.

“When I saw how pretty she was, I wanted to have sex with her,” he told the court and tried to apologize to the victim’s family saying, “I beg your pardon. I want to apologise to the family of Maria. I wish I could undo it. What I have done, I am sad for from the bottom of my heart.”

The court also learned that Khavari had been imprisoned before coming to Germany in Greece after he attempted to kill another woman by throwing her off a cliff. He received an 18-month sentence but was released in 2015 during the migrant crisis where he travelled to Germany.

He faces a potential life sentence for the murder if convicted and a verdict is expected in the spring of 2018.