Ex-Boyfriend's Shocking Confession in Influencer Murder Case

The ex-boyfriend of beauty influencer Stefanie Pieper has formally been charged with murder 10 months after she was killed.

The ex, who has only been identified as Patrick M, has been accused of strangling and stabbing Pieper, 31, in her apartment in Austria in November 2025. He then allegedly stuffed her body in a suitcase, which was eventually found buried in a forest near the border of Slovenia.

Patrick, 31, previously admitted to killing Pieper amid his alleged jealousy after they split. He was formally charged with her murder on Monday, September 21, according to German outlet Bild.

Per the report, Patrick walked back his initial confession and only admitted to burying Pieper’s body.

He was arrested in Šentilj before he was extradited to Austria. It is not currently clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following his arrest.

Patrick’s brother and stepfather were also accused of helping him move Pieper’s body, but they are reportedly not expected to be charged.

Pieper was last seen at a Christmas party on November 23, 2025. After she left the party, she sent her friend concerning texts about “a creep in the stairwell,” according to the New York Post.

Pieper was reported missing the following day when she didn’t show up for a scheduled photo shoot. She was found dead less than one week later on November 29, 2025, and authorities said she had facial injuries that she may have sustained while trying to get out of the suitcase.

After Pieper was reported missing, her ex quickly became a suspect in the case.

“Subsequent investigations led to the suspicion that the woman’s 31-year-old ex-boyfriend might be connected to her disappearance,” Styrian State Police previously said at the time. “The man is believed to have traveled to Slovenia several times in his car. He could not be contacted by the investigating police.”

German newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that Patrick was apprehended in Slovenia. Police found him after they responded to a call that “a car had caught fire in the parking lot of a casino near the border” in Šentilj.

“This was the 31-year-old man’s car,” police said. “He was found in the immediate vicinity of the burning vehicle and arrested by the Slovenian police. Extradition to Austria has been requested.”

After Patrick reportedly confessed to strangling Pieper, he took police to the nearby forest where her remains were.

As Us previously reported, Pieper’s autopsy report confirmed that she died as a result of strangulation to her neck.

In March, a spokesperson for the Graz Public Prosecutor's Office told Bilt that investigators had not ruled out the theory that she may have been alive when she was put in the suitcase.

"The autopsy could not definitively determine when the young woman died,” the spokesperson said. “It is entirely possible that she was still alive when she was placed in the suitcase. However, it is equally possible that she was killed by strangulation beforehand."