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A French Polynesian tour guide has been remanded in custody to await trial for the murder of a German tourist, judicial sources said Thursday.
Arihano Haiti, 31, surrendered to military police on October 28 after 50 days on the run.
He will await trial in the Nuutania prison for the murder of 40-year-old tourist Stefan Ramin, whose charred remains were found days after he went missing on the island of Nuku Hiva in October during a round-the-world sailing trip with his girlfriend, Heike Dorsch, 37.
The chief prosecutor in French Polynesia denied reports that Ramin had been the victim of cannibalism, as speculated in the media.
Dorsch has told investigators that Ramin had headed for the interior of the island with Haiti, who returned alone to the couple’s boat hours later to tell her that her partner had been injured and needed help.
She claimed she had followed the guide, who tried to assault her sexually after tying her to a tree, but she managed to escape.
Ramin’s remains were found in a charred pit on the island.
Haiti will be tried for murder and sexual assault.