Cold case murder from 1997 reopened
The man who was arrested last Friday for a cold case in Groningen, was known as a frequent offender at the time of the murder. The Dagblad van het Noorden and De Telegraaf report that his name was mentioned at the time as a potential suspect.
The 44-year-old man from Geldrop (Noord-Brabant) was arrested after renewed attention for the death of Els Slurink (33). She was found dead in 1997 in her home in the Zeeheldenbuurt in Groningen.
The name of the man who has now been arrested, Jahangir A., was added to the file at the time on a list of frequent offenders. His brother also featured in the case file, the two newspapers report after joint research.
At the time, however, the scenario of him breaking into the woman's home was not further elaborated, as no traces of burglary were found. The police assumed the case to be a conflict in the personal sphere or a motive related to Slurink's work: she worked as a clinical psychologist with suspects of child abuse.
Case file reopened
Last month, the police again drew attention to the case with a media campaign and a poster campaign in the city of Groningen. This time, attention was specifically drawn to the possibility that Slurink had caught a burglar. More frequent burglaries had been reported in the Zeeheldenbuurt at the time of the murder.
A.'s lawyer does not want to say anything about the case to the newspapers. The suspect is under restrictions, which means that he can only have contact with his lawyer. The police are therefore not making any further statements about the arrest.