CEN/ FACEBOOK Maria Ladenburger was allegedly raped and murdered by a asylum seeker

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Medical student Maria Ladenburger, who had also taken time out to help asylum seekers as a volunteer, was found dead in a river in the south-western German university city of Freiburg in October. A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker has been arrested on suspicion of rape and murder. In an obituary published in a German daily newspaper, the family of Ms Ladenburger called for donations instead of flowers.

CEN/ FAZ Her family have asked for charity donations to a refugee organisation

Her father is Dr Clemens Ladenburger, a lawyer who works as the right hand man to the legal director of the European Commission. The obituary read: "For 19 years Maria was a ray of sunshine for our family and it will stay that way. "We are grateful for this gift of her life with us, and we are certain that she is safe now with God." The family writes that with "a heavy heart, but at the same time with firm hope we say farewell to our dearest beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and cousin".

CEN/ FACEBOOK A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker has been arrested on suspicion of rape and murder

But as well as the message of farewell, the Ladenburger family asked for donations to a few charities. As well as a project of the Catholic Church in Bangladesh they point at a student initiative in Freiburg. The organisation, called 'weitblick' ('wide view'), writes on their website that they support refugees and asylum seekers with family sponsorships. They make regular excursions and activities with asylum seekers and also look after a small multilingual library on site.

CEN/ FACEBOOK Ms Ladenburger studied medicine and aided asylum seekers in the city