Police arrest 23-year-old man over death of 29-year-old woman found in Amsterdam suitcase

Arrest of a 23-year-old man

Police arrested a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, 20 October, in connection with the death of a 29-year-old woman whose body was found in Amsterdam. The arrest was announced at a press conference of the city's tripartite authority of mayor, police and public prosecution service. The suspect is a Somali national with no permanent address who has lived in the Netherlands since 2009 and holds an indefinite residence permit. According to de Volkskrant, he has previously committed offences such as shoplifting. He is being held under restrictions.

How the case unfolded

The woman was last seen on 4 October near the RAI exhibition centre, when she rode away on a bicycle with a man toward the Buitenveldert district. This was not the first time she had walked away from home carrying a suitcase. Her family reported her missing on 5 October, and police released her name and photograph on 13 October in the hope of generating tips. Her body was found on Friday, 16 October, inside a suitcase in the water near the Amsteldijk, and an investigation established that she had died as a result of a crime.

From witness to suspect

Detectives first treated the man as a witness and interviewed him on Monday evening, 19 October. Follow-up investigation then established that he was a suspect, and on Tuesday morning he was classed as one. Chief public prosecutor René de Beukelaer said there had initially been insufficient suspicion against him, and that further investigation had changed that. Police have not made public what that investigation revealed. Holla said there are no indications that the woman and the man knew each other, although this is still being examined.

Koggenland incident and the investigation

On Tuesday the suspect was arrested after a violent incident at a residence in the municipality of Koggenland, where police found an injured man who was taken to hospital. Police say the suspect had gone to the house deliberately, and he was arrested at the scene for that incident. The injured man, whom the chief prosecutor says is out of life-threatening danger, knew the suspect. Police do not currently link the Koggenland incident to the woman's death, and the motive remains under investigation. Reportedly there are so far no indications of sexual abuse or of a third person involved.

Family and the mayor's response

Relatives of the woman, speaking through the victim support organisation Namens de Familie, said they were very glad a suspect had been arrested. They remain in deep mourning over the loss of their daughter, sister and family member, and they asked for privacy. Mayor Femke Halsema recalled the 2025 murder of a 17-year-old girl in Duivendrecht and said it was deeply painful to sit again as the tripartite authority, knowing that such cases instil fear among women in Amsterdam and across the Netherlands.