A German convicted of a double murder in the U.S. three decades ago is on his way to Germany, his supporters and local media said.
A tweet posted to an account reportedly run by supporters of Jens Soering on Tuesday claimed the 53-year-old man was on the plane.
“At the moment Jens is in the air. As free as the 300 other passengers around him,” the Tweet said.
German broadcaster RTL said he boarded a United Airlines plane UA932 at Washington airport en route to Frankfurt on Monday local time.
German tabloid Bild newspaper published a photo of Soering on a plane.
The flight is expected to arrive in Frankfurt on Tuesday.
However, there was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The son of a German diplomat, Soering had received two life sentences for the 1985 murder of his then-girlfriend’s parents in the U.S.
The parole board of the state of Virginia voted in November to release him and turn him over to immigration officials who would then deport him to Germany.
The brutal murder had drawn national and international attention for decades.
The parents of Elizabeth Haysom were stabbed to death in the Virginia City of Lynchburg.
Haysom and Soering fled the country after becoming suspects, but were caught in 1986 in London and returned to the U.S.
Soering had initially confessed to the murders, but later said that he only wanted to protect his girlfriend from the death penalty.
Report says he maintains his innocence to this day. (dpa/NAN)
