A murdered Dutch prostitute haunts Amsterdam's famous red-light district from beyond the grave, pleading with passersby to help find her killer.
Bernadette “Betty” Szabo, 19, was a new mother who was stabbed “dozens of times” and left in a pool of her own blood in the Dutch capital in 2009.
Now, police are using her hologram to spread the word about her case and look for clues.
A hologram with Betty's likeness peeks through the glass, visible to John and the tourists alike. She then blows on the glass to fog it up, revealing a simple message: “Help.”
Benjamin van Gogh, coordinator of the Amsterdam Wanted and Missing Persons Team, said the hologram, the first of its kind in the city, would allow people with knowledge of what happened to Betty to contact police after 15 years of silence. He said he hoped people would be embarrassed to report it. .
“Betty's hologram creates a certain connection with her that may persuade people to come forward,” Van Gogh said in a statement. “In these types of cases, we always try to show the victim's face so the informant can see who they're doing it for, and holograms are a way to take this a step further.”
Police officials said the hologram was created with the consent of Szabo's family, and that authorities had “the clear goal of achieving some form of justice for Betty by finding her killer.'' We are committed to doing this with dignity and respect.”
Szabo, originally from Hungary, moved to Amsterdam at the age of 18 and found work as a prostitute in the red light district, a job she continued despite becoming pregnant.
Police said Sabo disappeared on February 19, 2009, three months after giving birth, and two co-workers initially suspected she had “had a bad day or came home early.” .
When they went looking for Sabo, they discovered a gruesome crime scene in her “work room”.
Anne Drager Heemskerk, a member of the cold case team, said Szabo's story was particularly poignant because it took place in the heart of one of Amsterdam's busiest areas.
“A girl who just turned 19 had her life taken away in a horrible way. And who wouldn't have had an easy life before she died?” Dreyer Heemskerk said.
“She worked long hours as a sex worker and continued to work until just before giving birth to her son,” it added. “We hope that witnesses who have previously been silent due to fear or other reasons will find the courage to come forward.”
Along with holograms, police placed large stickers, posters and television screens with information about the incident throughout red-light districts.
Authorities have also increased the reward to $32,000 for information related to the case.
