A 17-year-old girl was stabbed to death while calling police to report that she was being followed on her bike ride home, sparking widespread fury across the Netherlands after an asylum seeker was arrested in connection with the attack. The lifeless body of the victim, identified as Lisa, was found in a ditch by the roadside in the early hours of Wednesday.
Lisa was on her way home from a night out with friends when a man, who also had a bicycle, attacked her while she was calling the emergency police number. Her body was found hours later with multiple stab wounds, including one to her neck, De Telegraaf reported.
Killed by Serial Rapist
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A 22-year-old male asylum seeker was arrested on Thursday by a SWAT team at a migrant center in Amsterdam in connection to the murder, De Telegraaf reported. The man was reportedly arrested four days ago in connection with a rape in Amsterdam on August 15.
Police said that he is also accused of attacking a third woman five days earlier, who came forward after seeing appeals related to Lisa’s murder.
Another woman claimed that she was chased by a man matching the suspect’s description on the same day that Lisa was murdered.
“I was on my way home from work and when I turned a corner, I saw a man who looked normal, but he started running after me,” the unidentified woman told De Telegraaf.
“I thought he was going to hurt me or take my e-bike or phone. Luckily, he didn’t catch up, but I’m still shaking with fear,” she said.
So far, there is no evidence to suggest that Lisa was sexually assaulted, police said.
The suspect is set to appear in an Amsterdam court on Monday, where an examining magistrate will review the case and decide whether he should remain in pre-trial detention.
Nationwide Fury
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Lisa’s death has sparked widespread protests across the Netherlands, with hundreds gathering in Rotterdam on Sunday for a “March Against Femicide.” Demonstrators carried signs with messages like “Not all men, but always men” and “She had dreams, no grave needed.”
A moment of silence was observed for Lisa on Sunday before an Ajax soccer match at the Johan Cruyff Arena, located just a short distance from where her body was discovered.
In response to the murder, right-wing politicians, including Geert Wilders of the nationalist Freedom Party, vowed to halt all asylum applications.
Wilders withdrew his party from a conservative coalition government after a disagreement over asylum policies, prompting a snap election scheduled for October 29.
Authorities are continuing to urgently request that any witnesses come forward and have released images of at least three people caught on surveillance cameras near the time of Lisa’s murder.
The photos feature a person on an electric scooter, the passengers of a delivery van, and the occupants of a microcar.
Although most of Lisa’s cycling route is monitored by cameras, clear footage from the exact location where she is thought to have been killed is still unavailable.
