A hologram of a murdered Hungarian sex worker is now haunting Amsterdam’s Red Light District.
Bernadette “Betty” Szabo was only 19 years old when she was murdered in 2009—just a few months after giving birth. She left Hungary for Amsterdam when she was only 18 and got involved in sex work. Sadly, her life was cut short when she was stabbed a number of times and ultimately left for dead. Police still have yet to solve the case.
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Now, authorities are hoping this new initiative will help shed light on the ongoing violence against sex workers and perhaps identify Szabo’s killer.
The hologram shows the young sex worker dressed in hotpants, a leopard-print bra, and a tattoo spanning her stomach and chest. From her place behind a window, she knocks on the glass before leaning forward, fogging the pane with her breath, and writing “HELP.”
According to BBC, police “are urging people who may have visited Amsterdam to think back, with a €30,000 reward to encourage witnesses to come forward.”
“Betty’s hologram may create a certain connection with her and thus convince a person to come forward,” said Benjamin van Gogh, coordinator of the Amsterdam Wanted and Missing Persons Team. “In this type of case, we always try to put a face on a victim, so that informants know who they’re doing it for, and the hologram is a way of taking this a step further.”
Currently, Amsterdam plans to relocate sex workers to a dedicated “Erotic Center,” but many fear that hiding such activity will put sex workers in even more compromising situations. With the violent murder of Szabo occurring in plain sight, her hologram reminds viewers of the threat against sex workers in the area.
