At a press briefing, chief public prosecutor René de Beukelaer said the 22-year-old man living at the COA migrant center in the capital had been taken into custody. Authorities suspect him of killing the 17-year-old girl, identified as Lisa, as well as of raping a woman in Amsterdam earlier in August.
The same migrant was tied to another rape case against another woman earlier in August, according to police chief Peter Holla, per Dutch News. Police said that he is the suspect in another incident that also appeared to be a sexual assault after it was thought to be a robbery.
Lisa had left friends in central Amsterdam and set out around 3:30 am to bike home to Abcoude on an e-bike, a route she often used. She called law enforcement for assistance, but when officers located her at the water’s edge along Holterbergweg near the Johan Cruijff Arena, she had succumbed to multiple stab wounds.
De Beukelaer said investigators believe the cases are connected, involving the 22-year-old migrant housed at the COA facility who was arrested as a suspect in the earlier rape.
“On the basis of the findings of the investigation, we have the serious suspicion that it was one and the same suspect,” he said. “We think that the arrested suspect was also involved in a third incident…an attempted sexual assault. We wanted to make this known as quickly as possible because every day we see and hear that people are so affected and afraid.”
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the killing “appalling and unforgivable” and promised additional measures to combat violence against women. “As a mayor, but also as a woman and a mother, this past week chilled my heart,” she said. “But I was also angry… Thousands of women are now rightfully demanding back the night.” She added that women must live free from fear: “What should be self-evident – the safety of women and girls – is not self-evident. This is a disgrace to our society.”
Officials have not disclosed more details on the suspect, and he is due in court Monday for a preliminary hearing on murder and rape charges.
