On a crisp autumn morning in the Netherlands, October 6, 1995, 15-year-old Nicole Vandenhurk climbed onto her bicycle before dawn, just like she always did. She was heading to her seasonal job at a shopping center in Eindhoven. She never arrived.
By evening, her bicycle was found submerged in a nearby river, and a missing person report was filed. What began as a routine day quickly spiraled into one of the country’s most haunting mysteries—a case that would take more than two decades, advanced DNA technology, and relentless determination to solve.
Nicole’s life was shaped by both love and turbulence. Born in Germany in 1980, she moved to the Netherlands as a child when her mother, Angelica, began a new life with a Dutch man, Ed Vandenhurk.
After their divorce, Nicole stayed with her stepfather and stepmother, Yolanda. In her teens, she moved in with her grandmother in Tongelre, a district of Eindhoven. Friends remembered her as friendly, hardworking, and full of dreams for the future.
On that fateful morning, Nicole left home at 5:10 a.m. Hours later, when she didn’t show up for work, alarm grew. That evening, police discovered her bike in the Domo River. Two days later, her rucksack was found near a canal, intensifying fears. Search teams scoured rivers and forests, receiving hundreds of tips from the public. Weeks passed with no breakthrough.
On November 22, a passerby walking through woods between Mierlo and Lierop made a horrifying discovery. Nicole’s body was found under pruning waste, dragged deep into the forest. The autopsy revealed she had died violently, with stab wounds, jaw fractures, and other injuries. Her funeral drew nearly a thousand mourners—a community grieving a young life cut short.
The investigation quickly grew complex. An anonymous caller claimed to know the killer but disappeared after one phone call. Witnesses came forward with conflicting stories. Suspects were questioned, including Nicole’s stepfather and stepbrother, but all were cleared. Leads fizzled out.
By 1996, the investigation team was reduced to just four detectives. A cold case review in 2004 brought no new answers. It seemed Nicole’s murder might never be solved.
Then, in 2011, an unexpected twist reignited the case. Nicole’s stepbrother Andy, living in England, posted a confession on Facebook claiming responsibility for her death. He was arrested but released after five days due to lack of evidence.
Later, Andy explained that his confession had been a desperate attempt to push authorities to exhume Nicole’s remains for DNA testing, believing this could finally reveal the truth. His gamble worked.
Nicole’s body was exhumed in September 2011. New DNA analysis revealed foreign genetic material that didn’t belong to Nicole or her boyfriend. Investigators compared the DNA to other cases and found a shocking match: Jos de G., a man convicted in 2001 for a similar violent assault. His modus operandi mirrored Nicole’s case almost exactly. His DNA was found on Nicole’s remains and clothing.
In 2014, Jos de G. was arrested. But even with DNA evidence, the case wasn’t straightforward. Nicole’s remains had been exposed to the elements for weeks, and the DNA samples were mixed and degraded. International forensic experts examined the evidence, identifying two clear male DNA profiles—Nicole’s boyfriend and Jos de G.—but also unexplained traces that led to debate about a possible third person.
The trial began in November 2015. Jos denied knowing Nicole, even suggesting a consensual encounter, a claim prosecutors rejected. Witnesses recalled him admitting to killing a girl who mocked him. Prosecutors argued that the disappearance of his Mercedes vehicle fit the timeline of an attempted cover-up. Statistically, experts testified, it was 2.28 million times more likely that Jos’s DNA matched the evidence than anyone else’s.
The court convicted Jos of sexual assault but acquitted him of manslaughter, sentencing him to five years due to his mental state at the time. The public prosecution appealed. In 2018, the appeals court overturned the earlier ruling, convicting him of both sexual assault and manslaughter. He received a 12-year prison sentence. The Dutch Supreme Court upheld the verdict in 2020, closing a chapter on one of the country’s most infamous cold cases.
For Nicole’s family, the verdict was a bittersweet resolution. “Justice at last,” said her father, Ed. “We can start processing.” Her stepmother Yolanda added, “Even if he only gets five days, as long as he is recognized as the one who took her from us.” Decades of pain and uncertainty could never be undone, but at last, the truth had been brought to light.
Nicole Vandenhurk’s case is a testament to the power of science, persistence, and love. It shows how justice can emerge even after years of silence, thanks to breakthroughs in DNA technology and families who refuse to give up. Her story remains a symbol of perseverance—a reminder that no case is truly forgotten when truth still waits to be uncovered.
