Dutch police use hologram to try to solve prostitute’s murder in 2009

Authorities placed a hologram of the victim in Amsterdam’s red light district to try to find anyone with clues about the crime.

In a surprising attempt to revive a cold case, Dutch detectives have turned to holographic technology to highlight the unsolved homicide of Bernadette “Betty” Szaboa 19-year-old Hungarian prostitute who was murdered in Amsterdam in 2009.

Szabo’s realistic hologram, which depicts her in denim shorts and a leopard-print bra, appears to tap into a window in Amsterdam’s red-light district, breathing on the glass and writing the word “help.” The projection was designed to catch the attention of passersby, urging them to remember details that might help solve the case.

According to Dutch detectives, led by Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk, Szabo moved to Amsterdam at the age of 18, where she became pregnant and continued working in prostitution throughout her pregnancy. On February 19, 2009, her body was discovered in the brothel room by colleagues, who noticed that her usual music had gone silent. Szabo was fatally stabbedjust three months after giving birth, and her son was later placed in a foster home.

Since his murder, the police have meticulously investigated the case, combing through surveillance camera footage and interviewing potential witnesses, but no clues emerged.

Investigators suspect that the perpetrator may have been a foreign visitor, a plausible theory given Amsterdam’s international tourism. Now, in addition to the hologram, the police offered a reward of 30 thousand eurosin the hope that it might revive the memory of someone who was in the area at the time of the crime, writes .

This case is reigniting the wider debate in Amsterdam over changing the red light district to an “erotic zone” on the outskirts of the city. Proponents of the change argue that it could better protect women, while critics warn that it could increase your social isolation and expose them to more dangers.