Murdered woman’s furious family says police responded too late despite "Help me" text

The family of 29-year-old Hajar, who was found murdered in Amsterdam two weeks after she went missing, is furious at how the police responded to her case, the Telegraaf reported. “Help me. Now. He is killing me,” Hajar reportedly texted an acquaintance on the day of her disappearance on Sunday, October 4.

A police spokesperson confirmed to Hart van Nederland that Hajar sent distressing messages on the day of her disappearance, but declined to comment on the content.

A family member of Hajar showed the message to Telegraaf journalist Tom Olthof. It was sent around 11:15 a.m. on October 4. After failing to hear from her again, her family reported Hajar missing around 8:15 p.m. that same day. The police only released Hajar’s photo, asking for the public’s help in finding her, on October 13. Her body was found in a suitcase in the Amsteldijk three days later.

Journalist Olthof told Hart van Nederland that the family is furious that the police did not act faster. They’re also angry about how the authorities communicated about the situation, he said, pointing to Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema expressing her appreciation for the emergency services and the Amsterdam police chief saying that they made every possible effort to find Hajar.

The police said that, despite only publicly communicating about Hajar’s disappearance on October 13, they were trying to find her since her family reported her missing. The investigation led them to a property in Buitenveldert, where her phone connected to a cell tower during the early hours of October 6. Neither Hajar nor her phone was found there.

According to Hart van Nederland, the Buitenveldert building is a different location from the squatted building that the police investigated this week. Investigators believe that the suspected perpetrator, 23-year-old Abdi A., killed Hajar in this second location.

The police had questioned A. as a witness in Hajar’s disappearance on Monday, October 19. Further investigation led the police to reclassify him as a suspect on Tuesday morning.

The police arrested A. in Spierdijk, Noord-Holland, on Tuesday after he assaulted his foster father.