A hologram of a young sex worker now haunts Amsterdam’s red light district. Wearing faded denim shorts, a leopard-print bra, and a tattoo winding up her torso and chest, the 3D image reaches out, appearing to knock on the window to catch attention.
The hologram leans in, exhales on the glass, and writes “help.”
This digital creation represents Bernadette “Betty” Szabo, a 19-year-old from Hungary who was murdered in 2009, just months after having a baby.
Her unsolved stabbing has puzzled police for 15 years, prompting Dutch cold case detectives to use this cutting-edge technology for the first time to help solve the case.
Betty’s holographic image is displayed in a window, alongside hundreds of young women working in this notoriously risky line of work.
Detectives hope the realistic hologram will stir memories and highlight the unsolved crime.
Betty’s murderer remains unidentified, and cold case detective Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk is committed to finding answers: “A young woman, only 19, taken from life in such a horrific way.”
Detective Dreijer-Heemskerk described Szabo’s life as marked by hardship and resilience.
Betty moved to Amsterdam at 18, became pregnant shortly after, and continued working through her pregnancy, returning to her job soon after giving birth.
In the early hours of February 19, 2009, two fellow sex workers checked on the young mother during a break between clients, noticing her usual music was off.
Upon entering her workspace, a small room with a plastic-covered bed, vanity, and sink, they found Betty Szabo’s body.
She was murdered just three months after childbirth, the victim of a brutal stabbing.
Her baby was placed in foster care and grew up without knowing his mother—a detail that drives detectives’ resolve.
Despite an immediate investigation, the police were unable to locate her killer, thoroughly reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing possible witnesses.
Most people observing the women in red neon-lit windows are tourists, and police believe the attacker may have been a foreigner.
Now, authorities are urging past visitors to Amsterdam to recall details, offering a €30,000 reward to encourage witnesses to come forward.
