Tip led to the arrest in Utrecht fatal stabbing; suspect and victim knew each other

The 51-year-old man arrested on Sunday morning on suspicion of involvement in the fatal stabbing of a 41-year-old man in the Utrecht music center TivoliVredenburg knew the victim, the police reported on Monday. A tip by a witness led to the arrest.

De politie hield zondag 19 november, dankzij een tip van een oplettende burger, een 51- jarige man aan op verdenking van betrokkenheid bij de dodelijke steekpartij in #Utrecht. De verdachte en het slachtoffer kenden elkaar vanuit de schoonmaakbranche. https://t.co/61ZBjADuSH

— Politie Utrecht (@POL_Utrecht) November 20, 2023

The incident occurred around 7 a.m. on Sunday. Employees of the music center attempted to help the 41-year-old man before the emergency services arrived. However, the victim died at the scene.

“Some people were still at work, heard about it, and tried to help the victim. The police and ambulances arrived very quickly, but unfortunately, it was in vain,” said Jeroen Bartelse, director of TivoliVredenburg, to RTV Oost.

According to the police, the suspect and the victim knew each other from the cleaning industry. After the stabbing, the suspect fled the scene. The police immediately shared the description of the suspect. On Monday morning, a witness tip led to an arrest. “Partly thanks to this tip, the police managed to arrest a suspect,” the police stated.

The suspect is a 51-year-old man from Utrecht and was taken into custody. Little is known about the suspect and his motive at this time. “I am not allowed to say anything about the circumstances, about the exact place where it happened, and about the suspect,” said Bartelse. However, he did clarify that it was not related to “going out or nightlife.”

The police noted that there were no events in the building at the time of the stabbing. TivoliVredenburg confirmed on its website that no audience or artists were involved in the incident.