Man convicted of killing American student in Leeuwarden "Tinder murder" commits suicide
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Thomas R., the man who murdered the American student Mieke Oort in Leeuwarden in 2022, has taken his own life in prison, the Leeuwarder Courant and Dagblad van het Noorden reported. The news has triggered a “wave of emotions” for Mieke’s loved ones, lawyer Sébas Diekstra said.
The case around Mieke’s murder became known in the Netherlands as the “Tinder murder” because the victim and perpetrator met on the app. Mieke came to the Netherlands to study in 2019. She met R. in 2021 and chatted for a few weeks. She then started dating someone else, and R. began stalking her.
On March 6, 2022, R. saw Mieke dancing with her new boyfriend during a house party in her student apartment in Leeuwarden. He threw a firebomb at the apartment, stormed inside, and repeatedly stabbed the 21-year-old woman. He also stabbed her 26-year-old boyfriend, but he survived the attack.
R. was sentenced to 15 years in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment in 2022.
The two newspapers learned about the Leek man’s suicide through a social media post by his sister. “In his desperation, at a moment of deep loneliness, he chose this path,” the two newspapers quoted from R.’s sister’s post. “Your fight is over, your life was hard.” NOS tried to reach R.’s lawyer for confirmation, but was unable to do so.
Mieke’s family was devastated by the news, their Dutch lawyer, Sébas Diekstra, told ANP. “The unbearable pain of losing Mieke was already there, but this news brings a new wave of emotions. For them, the whole thing feels like a painful, tragic, and above all, unnecessary turn of events.”
