Amsterdam police use hologram to solve murder mystery of young sex worker

Police in Amsterdam are using a hologram of a murdered sex worker to generate new leads in her unsolved case. Bernadett “Betty” Szabó was found dead in her Red Light District workroom in February 2009.

Szabó, originally from Hungary, was 19 years old and the mother of a three-month-old son at the time of her death. Police said she had been stabbed multiple times. Despite an extensive investigation, her killer was never found.

The hologram, displayed in a window where Szabó used to work, shows her image knocking on the glass and mouthing the word “help.” Authorities hope it will encourage someone with information to come forward, according to a CNN report.


“It is difficult to determine what it takes to get possible witnesses in this case to share their information with us,” said Benjamin van Gogh, coordinator of the Amsterdam Wanted and Missing Persons Team, as quoted 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.”

According to a statement from Dutch police, Szabó grew up in poverty in the Hungarian city of Nyíregyháza. At 18, she moved to Amsterdam and began working as a prostitute. Soon after, she became pregnant but continued working throughout her pregnancy, giving birth to a son in November 2008.

Three months later, she was discovered dead in her workspace, lying in a pool of blood, according to police.

Police consulted with Szabó’s family before launching the campaign. They are offering a €30,000 (around $32,160) reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer, according to CNN.

Amsterdam police have urged anyone with related information to contact them.