There appears to be a new development in the investigation into the murder of Marja Nijholt from Enschede. The Bureau Dupin research collective says it has made “important progress” in the cold case, which has been unsolved for more than thirteen years.
Marja Nijholt was found dead on New Year’s Day 2013 in a driveway on the Berghemseweg in Oss. The woman had been stabbed to death. Despite extensive police investigations, no one was ever convicted of her murder.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, Marja wandered through Oss, a city that was unknown to her. She was seen at café ‘t Libre, cafeteria De Oostwal and a gas station. Why she was in Oss and what exactly happened in the hours before her death always remained unclear.
2000 volunteers are helping with the research
Bureau Dupin, a citizen collective that has been working with the police and the judiciary since 2021, says it has now found new incriminating material about someone who had previously been identified as a suspect. Who it concerns and what exactly the new material entails has not yet been announced.
In addition to all the work of the volunteers, an experimental AI model was also used. That model was fed with large amounts of information that volunteers collected in recent years. According to the collective, the AI system pointed “in the same direction” as the volunteers’ research.
New witnesses
The investigation into Marja’s death has received a lot of attention in recent years through a documentary and podcast series from Bureau Dupin. After the release of the Videoland documentary, thousands of people signed up to help find answers.
In 2023, Bureau Dupin reported that new witnesses had come forward who may have important information about Marja’s last hours. For example, a witness reportedly saw a man and woman busy gesticulating near the spot where her suitcase was found.
On Saturday, on National Cold Case Day, a new episode of the podcast series The New Year’s Murder will be released. Bureau Dupin announces the new developments in research.
Here you can read all the stories from Omroep Brabant about crime and criminality.
