The police in the Netherlands have installed a lifesize hologram of a young sex worker who was murdered in the capital city of Amsterdam, 15 years ago. The cold-case detectives are hoping that the innovative hologram will jog people's memories and help catch the killer to close the case. The hologram sits behind a window and looks out at passers-by, then appears to knock on the window and breathes on the glass which seemingly fogs up as the word 'help' appears.
Bernadett "Betty" Szabo, a 19-year-old Hungarian sex worker was murdered in 2009. She grew up in the Hungarian city of Nyiregyhaza before moving to Amsterdam at 18 where she started working as a prostitute. She got pregnant soon after but continued to work during pregnancy, eventually giving birth to a boy in November 2008.
Three months later, she was found murdered at her place of work, lying in a pool of blood. A police statement revealed that she had been stabbed multiple times. Betty's son was placed with a foster family after the murder.
"It is difficult to determine what it takes to get possible witnesses, in this case, to share their information with us," Benjamin van Gogh, coordinator of the Amsterdam Wanted and Missing Persons Team was quoted as saying by CNN.
"Betty's hologram may create a certain connection with her and thus convince a person to come forward. In this type of case, we always try to put a face on a victim, so that informants know who they're doing it for, and the hologram is a way of taking this a step further," he added.
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'Final attempt'
Police said the hologram was made after receiving approval from Betty's family. Apart from the hologram, police have also set up large stickers, posters and television screens with information on the case across the Red Light District. The reward for information related to the case has been raised to $32,000.
Notably, police had launched a "major investigation" into the murder with officers reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses. However, the case went cold after detectives were unable to solve it. However, in the last few months, the case has caught the attention of the force yet again with detectives making a "final attempt to find the perpetrator" through the hologram and retracing their steps.
