German racist neo-Nazi murder cell's lone member jailed for life

Munich: The only surviving member of a German neo-Nazi cell behind a string of racist murders was on Wednesday sentenced to life in prison, capping a mammoth trial that began in May 2013.

Beate Zschaepe, 43, was found guilty of 10 counts of murder in deadly shootings of nine Turkish and Greek-born immigrants as well as a German policewoman carried out by a trio known as the National Socialist Underground (NSU).

Although life imprisonment in Germany typically means 15 years behind bars as prisoners are often released for good conduct, Zschaepe would not be eligible for parole as judge Manfred Goetzl imposed the maximum sentence due to the "exceptional severity of the crime". Police say the NSU's two male members -- Zschaepe's former lovers Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt -- carried out their killing spree from 2000 to 2007, before they died in an apparent suicide pact following a bungled bank heist in 2011.