Suspect in teen girl's murder remanded to custody for 3 more months

On Friday the court in Utrecht remanded a 16-year-old boy from Den Bosch suspected of murdering 14-year-old Savannah Dekker from Bunschoten into custody for another three months. This was the teen boy's second appearance in court since he was arrested in June, AD reports.

Savannah was reported missing on June 1st. Her body was found three days later in a watery ditch on an industrial terrain in Bunschoten. The 16-year-old boy was arrested later that night.

The exact cause of Savannah's death is still uncertain, RTL Nieuws reported on Thursday based on a report leaked from the Netherlands Forensic Institute. The fact that the girl's body may have been in the water for days, made investigation that much harder. The NFI checked, among other things, whether Savannah had broken bones or alcohol and drugs in her system. Her medical file was also consulted. But the results of all these tests were inconclusive. 

The Public Prosecutor is extremely upset that this report leaked to the press, according to AD. But according to press prosecutor Natasja van Collenburg, the report definitely does not mean that there is no evidence that Savannah died a violent death. "The Public Prosecutor has strong indications for the suspect's involvement in the death of Savannah. Forensic investigation is still in full swing. The NFI is also still working. The suspect's custody was not extended for nothing", she said to the newspaper. 

According to Savannah's friends, she new the suspect from a chat site and had previous meetings with him. It is believed that Savannah went to meet him on the day she disappeared. Her bicycle was found a day later at a bus stop on the north side of Amersfoort.

The 16-year-old suspect tried to fake an alibi for himself by making arrangements with a friend that she would lie about where he was and with whom around the time of Savannah's disappearance, according to AD. Surveillance camera footage from the day Savannah disappeared show a boy cycling on the girl's bicycle. The suspect was shown this footage, but denies that it's him. He admitted to having contact with Savannah and making an appointment to meet. But he refuses to say anything about her death or to answer any difficult questions, according to the newspaper.