Hologram in the shop window This is how the police want to solve a 15-year-old murder case

15 years after the murder of 19-year-old Bernadette "Betty" Szabó, the Dutch police are using an unusual method: a life-size hologram of Betty is to provide new clues.

15 years ago, the young sex worker Bernadette "Betty" Szabó was murdered in Amsterdam's famous red light district when she was just 19 years old. The Dutch police are still searching for her murderer today.

But who is Betty and why did the young woman work as a sex worker in Amsterdam? Betty was born in Hungary in 1990 and came to Amsterdam when she was 18. There she worked as a sex worker in the red light district. She became pregnant shortly afterwards. She gave birth to a son, who was placed with a foster family. According to the Dutch police, "much to her chagrin".

Just eight days after the birth of her child, she went back to work in her studio on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal. On the night of February 19, 2009, two of Betty's colleagues noticed that she was not in her workroom. The music she always played wasn't playing either. At 1 a.m., they finally found Betty's body in her room. She was lying in a pool of blood and had been killed with dozens of stab wounds.

Case still unsolved today

The police have still not been able to solve the case. A house on the corner of Korte Stormsteeg and Oudezijds Achterburgwal is dedicated to Betty. With large stickers on the windows and TV screens showing a documentary and the crime scene.

There is now also a life-size hologram of Betty. She tries to make contact with passers-by and asks them for help.

Betty is sitting on a stool in a shop window. Her dragon tattoos can be seen on her stomach and chest. She is wearing short jeans and a black top with a yellow pattern. However, out of consideration for her relatives, she hardly resembles Betty.

The police want to solve the case with a hologram

"It's the first time we've done something like this and, to be honest, we're a bit nervous," says Benjamin van Gogh, coordinator of the Amsterdam search and missing persons team. The aim is to achieve some form of justice for Betty by finding her killer.

Van Gogh continues: "That's why, before deciding to use a hologram for the campaign, we discussed with various parties whether we should go ahead and how we should set it up."

30,000 euro reward for clues

Investigators hope that the hologram will help them solve the case. A reward of 30,000 euros has even been offered.

Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk from the cold case team also commented on the case: "Betty was murdered in one of the busiest areas of Amsterdam, perhaps even in the Netherlands." It is almost impossible that no one saw, heard or noticed anything unusual at the time.