Following the violent death of a woman while she visited her husband in an east German prison, a judge ordered pre-trial detention on manslaughter charges for the man, based on a “strong suspicion” that he killed her.

Initial investigations showed that the wife died from “violence to the neck.”

The man was already serving a prison sentence but the pre-trial detention order, which a spokesman for the Stendal public prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday, means the man, 37, cannot be released early.

The incident took place on April 3 at the Burg Prison, the largest incarceration facility in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The 35-year-old woman was visiting her husband in a private room that some German prisons have, which allows prisoners to spend several hours, often unsupervised, with partners or family members. These rooms are colloquially referred to as “love cells.”

The woman was found dead in the room. Following her death, the prison administration suspended all planned long-term visits until further notice.

– dpa