Leeuwarden stabbing left woman, 21, dead; Suspect held in Germany

The victim of a fatal stabbing in Leeuwarden was identified as a 21-year-old woman from the Frisian capital, Dutch police said. She was found killed alongside a 25-year-old injured man when emergency workers responded to a report of a fire in a home early Sunday morning.

Police also revealed on Monday that the suspect they arrested, a 27-year-old man from Leek, Groningen, was captured by German police near the town of Leer, about 90 minutes after the fire. The Dutch and German police cooperated to stop the suspect’s vehicle about 135 kilometers east of the crime scene, and the man was arrested by German police. Authorities in the Netherlands will seek his extradition, police said.

The police investigation is focused on what happened before the house fire, which was reported at 3:36 a.m. on the Tweebaksmarkt on Sunday. The fire was quickly extinguished and two of the victims were found. Later, the third victim, a 30-year old man, approached the ambulance workers.

Police on Monday were still canvassing the neighborhood and continued taking statements from the victims. Authorities asked that anyone with information contact them directly.