Hajar death suspect held for 14 days amid attempted killing allegation

A Dutch judge ordered the 23-year-old suspect in the investigation into Hajar’s death held for 14 days on Friday, 23 October. Prosecutors say he is suspected of murder or manslaughter in the death of the 29-year-old Amsterdam woman, and of attempted murder or manslaughter of a man in Koggenland. They also suspect him of threatening a woman there and disposing of Hajar’s body. The custody decision is not a verdict on any of those allegations.

Police said the suspect was arrested on 20 October after a violent incident at a home in Koggenland. A man was injured and taken to hospital. Koggenland mayor Pieter van Maaren told NH Nieuws that the injured man was the suspect’s foster father; he said the man had significant injuries but was expected to recover.

Hajar was reported missing on 4 October. Her body was found in a suitcase in water by Amsterdam’s Amsteldijk on 16 October. Prosecutors now say their investigation has established that she was killed early in the afternoon of the day she disappeared.

The suspect is allowed contact only with his lawyer while under investigative restrictions, prosecutors said. In a statement relayed to AT5 by their lawyer, Richard Korver, Hajar’s family asked to be left to grieve and urged the media to respect their privacy.