Full Story
In October 1995, 15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk vanished on her way to work in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Her bike was found that evening near a river, and weeks later her backpack turned up in a canal. On November 22, after seven weeks of searching, her body was discovered in the woods between Mierlo and Lierop. She had been raped and stabbed, with internal bleeding likely causing her death.
The investigation quickly ran cold. At first, police chased false leads, including claims from a woman tied to drug trafficking in Miami, but none held up. Nicole’s stepfather and stepbrother were briefly arrested in 1996, yet both were cleared due to lack of evidence. Despite rewards and renewed searches, no substantial clues emerged. A cold case review in 2004 also failed to move the case forward.
By 2011, Nicole’s stepbrother Andy van den Hurk, frustrated by the lack of progress, made a shocking move. He posted on Facebook that he had killed his stepsister. Police arrested him, but after five days and no supporting evidence, he was released. Andy admitted he had lied, explaining he only confessed to force authorities to exhume Nicole’s body for DNA testing.
His gamble worked. That September, police exhumed Nicole’s remains and tested them. They found DNA from three men: Andy himself, Nicole’s boyfriend at the time, and Jos de G, a convicted rapist with a history of psychiatric problems. The discovery led to charges against de G in 2014.
The case, however, was far from straightforward. The defense argued the DNA evidence was inconclusive since multiple men’s DNA was present, and even suggested Nicole might have had consensual sex with de G. With doubts hanging over the murder charge, prosecutors pushed for manslaughter instead.
After a lengthy trial that stretched nearly two years, the court reached a verdict in November 2016. Jos de G was acquitted of murder but convicted of rape. He received a five-year prison sentence, ending one of the Netherlands’ most frustrating and tragic cold cases, a case only revived because Nicole’s stepbrother risked everything with a false confession.
FYI, I focus on adding context to social media posts that often lack it. If you’re interested in seeing posts with added clarity and background, consider following me.
