Belgian police identify 1992 murder victim as Welsh woman, 31; Dutch witnesses sought
The Belgian police are looking for witnesses in the Netherlands following a recent breakthrough in a cold case that formed part of Operation Identify Me. A woman found murdered in Antwerp on 3 June 1992 has been identified as 31-year-old Rita Roberts from Wales. The police have indications that Rita visited the Netherlands shortly before her death, the Dutch police said.
Shortly after the launch of the Identify Me campaign in May, a relative of Rita Roberts contacted the police. They recognized the tattoo of the unidentified woman killed in Antwerp in 1992. After an investigation, the Belgian police confirmed the woman’s identity. Her loved ones last received a letter from her on 6 May 1992 and heard nothing since.
“The news was shocking and heartbreaking,” a spokesperson for Rita’s family said. “Our passionate, loving, and free-spirited sister was cruelly taken. We cannot find words to truly describe the sadness we felt and still feel. Although the news is difficult to process, we are incredibly grateful that we now at least know what happened to Rita. We miss her dearly.”
Now that Rita has been identified, the police can resume the investigation into her murder. The police asked people in Belgium and the Netherlands who knew Rita to contact them, releasing a photo of the woman to help spark people’s memories.
“There are indications that Rita Roberts also spent some time in the Netherlands,” the police said. The case will be discussed in detail on Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday evening.
In Operation Identify Me, the Dutch, German, and Belgian police and Interpol asked for help identifying 22 women who had been murdered in the three countries in the past decades. Project leader Martin de Wit is grateful that the operation has led to an identification. “During the preparation, we always said to each other: if even one woman is identified, it will be worth every effort.”
The Dutch police hope that the success of the Belgian case will also give new impetus to the other 21 cases. “We already knew that the redeeming answer for these cases probably lies across the border. Now, we also know that even after 30 years, there is still hope. There must be many more relatives, somewhere in the world, waiting for news about their loved one,” De Wit said.
