Dutch prosecutors double reward in 25-year-old Rotterdam sexual assault and murder case

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has doubled the reward for the key tip in the 2001 killing of Mariska Klompenhouwer in Rotterdam, police reports. The reward has been raised from 11,000 to 25,000 euros as investigators renew efforts to identify the person responsible for the 35-year-old woman’s death on the night of April 28–29, 2001.

Klompenhouwer was killed after a night out at a café on Hillevliet in Rotterdam-Zuid. Police believe she attempted to get home by taxi and may have approached at least one taxi driver on Lange Hilleweg, possibly more. Investigators suspect she instead entered an unknown car or taxi.

According to police, the driver of that vehicle is believed to have sexually assaulted her at the parking lot of the Ahoy Rotterdam event complex before running her over with his car and leaving her dead at the scene.

Authorities are now specifically asking for information about the vehicle Klompenhouwer entered. “Every detail about the type of car Mariska entered can help advance the investigation,” police said in their appeal.

New investigative steps include the release of surveillance footage from the night of the killing, which will be shown for the first time on the program Opsporing Verzocht on Monday. Police said the images were already in the case file but have gained renewed significance following fresh analysis.

Klompenhouwer was a single mother of an 11-year-old daughter, now 36, who is publicly appealing for answers. “This event must not be brushed away as if nothing happened,” she said in a police statement. “For me, it is so important that even after all these years, there are answers. That my mother is given justice.” She will also appear in Opsporing Verzocht on Monday to speak about the case.

Police in Rotterdam are also set to mark the case on Sunday evening during Koningsnacht with a street campaign. Officers and municipal workers are to distribute orange wristbands bearing the message “Let women come home safely,” along with a link to the investigation page. The victim’s daughter is expected to attend.

The appeal is also being amplified through roadside screens, online advertisements, and social media campaigns.

Police said they are hopeful renewed attention will lead to a breakthrough after 25 years. “Someone who 25 years ago perhaps did not want to talk about it may now be willing to do so,” said lead investigator Ed van der Worm. “These kinds of things tend to weigh on your conscience.”