Dutch Sleuths Revive Cold Case Of Teen Sex Worker’s Murder Using Interactive Hologram – News18

Last Updated:November 10, 2024, 23:58 IST

Detectives revive 2009 cold case of murdered teen sex worker, seeking justice for her using her hologram.

A hologram of Bernadette “Betty” Szabo, a 19-year-old Hungarian sex worker who was murdered in 2009, a few months after giving birth to her son, appears in Amsterdam’s red light district urging people to come forward and help Dutch detectives solve the cold case.

Betty’s 3D projection, dressed in faded denim hotpants and a leopard-print bra, with a tattoo winding across her torso, reaches out, to knock on the glass to draw attention. At one point, she leans forward, breathes on the window and traces the word “help” on the glass

Betty’s story is a chilling reminder of the risks Amsterdam’s sex workers face while catering to clients.

Detectives, while speaking to UK-based broadcaster BBC, said they believe that this innovative use of technology could trigger memories or attract leads from those who may have witnessed something years ago but never came forward.

Investigators are hopeful that the hologram will draw fresh attention to Betty’s case, which has remained unsolved for over a decade.

“A young woman, only 19, taken from life in such a horrific way,” cold case detective Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.

In the early hours of February 19, 2009, two sex workers, noticing that Betty Szabo’s usual music had stopped, decided to check on the teenage mother during a break between clients.

Upon entering her brothel room—a cramped space furnished with a plastic-covered bed, a vanity table, and a small sink—they found her lifeless body.

Betty, only 19 and just three months post-childbirth, had been brutally stabbed to death. Her son was subsequently placed in foster care, never having the chance to know his mother.

Despite an immediate murder investigation by police, the killer of Bernadette “Betty” Szabo was never identified. Authorities reviewed CCTV footage extensively and interviewed potential witnesses, but the case grew cold.

Investigators also believe the suspect may have been a foreign visitor. Now, police are appealing to anyone who may have been in Amsterdam at the time to recall details of that night, offering a €30,000 reward as an incentive for witnesses to share information that could finally help solve the 15-year-old case.

Location :

Amsterdam, Netherlands