A 46-year-old German man, who allegedly kept the decomposing corpse of his German girlfriend hidden in his rented flat in northern Greece for more than two months, has been charged with murder and defiling a dead person, police said yesterday.

The unnamed German is due to face an investigating magistrate today after being given 24 hours to prepare his defense. The charges were brought against him after a coroner determined that Astrid Schnee, 54, had died of multiple kicks to her sides.

Schnee had been suffering from liver problems, according to the coroner who deemed that the German man was in need of psychiatric help.

The suspect, who has refuted all charges brought against him, was arrested on Sunday after police discovered Schnee’s body laid out on a bed in a small apartment in the town of Asprovalta, east of Thessaloniki. The woman’s body had been washed with bleach and surrounded with flowers and dolls, according to police.