The so-called "Nazi Bride" accused of participating in a series of racially motivated murders has spoken out about the killings for the first time in two years. Beate Zschaepe, 40, is thought to be the only surviving member of the group responsible for the attacks, according to NBC News.
Zschaepe is accused of being a part of the National Socialist Undergound (NSU), a neo-Nazi organization that prosecutors say is responsible for a number of murders between 2000 and 2007, as well as two bombings and 15 bank robberies, according to NBC News.
Zschaepe rejects that she was a member of the NSU, claiming in writing that she "was involved in neither the preparations, nor the carrying out" of the murders she is accused of, but that she felt "morally guilty" about not having stopped them from happening, according to ABC News.
She has pointed at her former partners Uwe Mundlow and Uwe Boehnhardt as the perpetrators for the attacks that took place over the seven-year period. Mundlos and Boehnhardt died in 2011 in a murder-suicide, according to Yahoo News.
"It was very clear to me that I couldn't return to normal life. They didn't need me - I needed them," Zschaepe claimed in her statement, arguing that her financial dependence on the leaders of the organization was one of the factors preventing her from leaving, according to NBC News.
Relatives of the victims of the NSU were left cold by Zschaepe's statement, with one lawyer telling reporters, "If this was all that Mrs. Zschaepe has to tell us, then she should have better not said anything," according to NBC News.
Four others are accused of supporting the neo-Nazi group, with one, Ralf Wohlleben, expected to testify in the upcoming weeks. The trial is predicted to continue until mid-2016, according to Yahoo News.
