Updated figures show 128 murders in the Netherlands last year, led by Rotterdam
A total of 128 criminal cases involved either murder or manslaughter in the Netherlands, according to provisional figures collected by the Telegraaf. The preliminary data shows that Rotterdam will retain its position as the country's murder capital, though the conclusion conflicts somewhat with data from EW. Five cases involve teenage suspects, and there were no arrests in four cases.
The Telegraaf logged a total of 128 violent deaths in 125 different cases. It put Rotterdam at the top of the list with 11 fatalities, down from 17 last year. Amsterdam followed in second with 10 victims, the same as last year.
The newspaper put The Hague in third with nine victims. While that figure is still well above last year's total of three, it conflicts with a conclusion drawn by EW that showed a total of 11 victims through December 23.
There were also 37 cases of murder or manslaughter committed in Zuid-Holland, by far more than any other province. Another 28 were recorded in Noord-Holland, 19 in Gelderland, and 17 in Noord Brabant. The provinces of Flevoland, Friesland, and Groningen had just one each.
A total of 42 women and 86 men were killed, according to the provisional data. The data showed that 26 of the women were killed either by a current or former partner, known as femicide in the Netherlands. The number of women killed was somewhat stable compared to last year, and the percentage of those cases considered to be femicide was roughly similar to data collected by Statistics Netherlands over the past five years.
The oldest victim was an 89-year-old man in Slootdorp, which is part of the Hollands Kroon municipality in Noord-Holland. He was allegedly killed by his son last March. The youngest victim was a baby boy who was a few weeks old. In a disturbed state, his mother dropped her child from the window of a refugee center in February.
The youngest suspect in a case is a 13-year-old boy accused of striking Hamit Altürk, 42, with a paving tile at the NDSM-werf in Amsterdam-Noord. Altürk died from his injuries at an area hospital. A 15-year-old boy was also charged in the case.
The data so far shows that 15 cases involve a victim and suspect with different nationalities.
The data is not yet final, as police and prosecutors can still make decisions that affect the totals. Additionally, cases which were first reported at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024 may still need to be investigated further.
