A sex offender accused of killing a teenager he got to know online has pestered an actress with messages for months, it has emerged.

Jan-Heiko Pflur, 29, is in investigative custody over the murder of Ayleen Ambs.

The 14-year-old’s body was discovered in Teufelsee lake in Hesse, central Germany, last month.

Her clothes were reportedly found in the suspect’s apartment in the town of Waldsolms, around 32 kilometres (20 miles) from the lake.

Pflur had spent 10 years in a psychiatric hospital until 2017 after trying to rape an 11-year-old girl, according to German newspaper Bild.

Now it has been revealed that Pflur had sent dozens of text and voice messages to the star of a popular German soap opera.

Informed by Bild that the suspect still used a selfie featuring her as his Instagram profile picture, starlet Jessica Faust searched her chats to discover numerous unanswered texts from the 29-year-old man.

The 30-year-old star of RTL2 hit Koeln 50667 told Bild: “The photo was probably taken in 2017. I have no recollection of any details.

“Now I found that he had sent me dozens of messages via Instagram’s chat option in 2018 and 2019. He even asked me whether he could use the picture in a bid to make his former fiancee jealous.”

Faust said she was “shocked”.

The actress – who boasts 207,000 followers on Instagram – said: “What happened is an unspeakable tragedy. I feel immense pain. My thoughts are with the girl’s family.”

Another German celeb has recently spoken out about her encounter with the alleged murderer.

Pop singer Annemarie Eilfeld told Bild about a selfie Pflur took with her in May 2018: “Thinking of it is still giving me the chills.”

The 32-year-old said she had been attending the premiere of an entertainment show in Berlin that night.

Eilfeld said: “I sent out a message on social media to my fans about how much I was looking forward to it.”

Pflur approached her at the entrance of the venue.

The singer reveals: “I remember that he was well-prepared. He had brought along several photographs which he then asked me to sign.

“He seemed like a normal guy but I felt uncomfortable as he came very close.

“He wanted to know whether I was still seeing my boyfriend and why he wasn’t with me that night.

“I found that astonishing. Usually, my fans just ask me how I’m doing and when my new song is coming out.

“I was relieved to get away from this guy.”

Pflur – who worked for a security firm in Frankfurt – remains in preventive custody as investigations into the case continue.

Local officials have said that Ayleen was led to the lake by the prime suspect who is said to have met the teen after grooming her online.

A spokesman for the Hesse police department announced: “They have been in touch for several weeks. They started chatting while playing Fortnite on the internet.”

Ayleen went missing from her home in the village of Gottenheim in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, near the French border.

Gottenheim is situated some 200 kilometres (186 miles) from where her body was found.

Pflur was stopped by special investigators on his way home from a nightshift, questioned and put in custody.

Arno Engelen, 58, heads the criminal investigations department of the police in the city of Freiburg, Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Engelen said: “Ayleen was a very shy girl who was always there when others needed help.

“She spent a lot of time looking after her little brother.”

Gottenheim Mayor Christian Riesterer announced: “The worst-possible thing has happened. The whole town is in shock.”