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The man, identified only as Abubaker C, was convicted of murder which was described as being religiously motivated after he stated he considered her to be an “infidel”. Judges in the courthouse of Heilbronn, a city in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, found the 27-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker guilty of brutally killing his landlady, a 70-year-old woman named only as Maria M. He carried out the attack on the pensioner as she slept in a spare room, having moved out of her own bedroom because of her husband's snoring problem in the home they shared in the town of Bad Friedrichshall.

CEN Police investigating at the house where the murder happened

Investigators were easily able to link the man to the crime after they discovered his DNA all over the murder scene, prosecutors said. After the attack, the murderer fled the scene, stealing a number of the woman’s items, including her mobile phone as well as money and jewellery. When police caught up with him, they seized his possessions including his diary, in which he had written: "It's payback time."

CEN Forensic police look for clues

It was also found that Abubaker C left religious slogans in Arabic and Urdu at the scene. The prosecutor said: "The accused wanted to kill a person who did not believe in his views." The killer used a marker to write his messages which included a sentence which referred to Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, which stated: "His Excellency, Ali, was the last person to say to the people of eternity, I am God."

'MERKEL MUST GO': Brussels protest against German Chancellor Tue, February 14, 2017 Angry campaigners held placards with slogans reading 'Merkel not welcomed' and 'Merkel must go' following a spate of terror attacks against Germany. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 11 Protest on the sidelines of Angela Merkel's official visit in Brussels

CEN The house where the murder took place

The judge said Abubaker C wanted to create the impression that a religious Shiite had committed the murder. The judge also said that Abubaker, as a Sunni, was not devout as he did not take part in Ramadan and drank alcohol. Presiding judge Roland Kleinschroth said: "We know that you have a hatred for the Shiites." The murdered victim was a faithful Catholic.

CEN The murderer was given a life sentence for the murder