Global Courant 2023-05-10 14:02:15
PARIS — The 22 women mostly died violently. Their bodies, some dismembered, were found over a 43-year period in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands – most recently in 2019. Police say some showed signs of beatings or starvation.
But who they were is unknown, frustrating detectives’ search for their killers.
The police hope that this can change with the launch of Operation Identify Me on Wednesday. The international appeal with Interpol is seeking public help to name the women. Such a breakthrough would at least allow police to no longer identify victims by their distinguishing features or clothing – “the woman with the flower tattoo”, “the woman with the artificial nails” – or locations where their remains were found. used to be. discovers.
The oldest of the cold cases, “The girl in the parking lot”, dates from 1976. Her body was found along the A12 in the Netherlands. She would have been between 13 and 20 years old when she died. Interpol, the international police liaison organization based in Lyon, France, distributed black and white facial reconstructions of some of the victims. Hers showed a young woman with long, dark hair and bright eyes.
In a statement citing Dutch, German and Belgian police, Interpol said some of the women are believed to be from Eastern Europe and their bodies may have been left in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany to disrupt investigations.
“Most of the 22 victims died violently, and some were also abused or starved to death before they died,” the Dutch police said.
Police hope that learning their names can also provide evidence about possible perpetrators. It could also enable them to determine if any of the cases are related.
“In similar investigations, establishing the identity of the victim ultimately led to the arrest of a suspect,” said Anja Allendorf of the German police.
Interpol publishes details of each case on its website, at www.interpol.int/IM. In addition to facial reconstructions of some of the women, it also includes images of jewelry and other items found with their remains, and contact forms for people who may have information about the cases.
Susan Hitchin, who coordinates Interpol’s DNA unit, said identifying the women could help close down their relatives.
‘It’s awful to be without news all these years, without knowing what happened. And as horrible as it is to get that confirmation that their loved one has passed away, it’s part of an important process to grieve and move on,” she said in a phone interview.
“Hopefully a member of the public can bring in some new elements for police to use that will ultimately determine the identity of these victims and ideally help find the perpetrator, if there is one.”
