The Murder of Nicole van den Hurk: How a 15-Year Cold Case Was Finally Solved

In 1995, 15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk vanished on her way to work in Eindhoven. Her disappearance shocked the Netherlands, but the case went cold for more than a decade—until a series of DNA breakthroughs exposed the shocking truth.
In this episode, we retrace the investigation step by step: the early theories, the missteps, the public appeals, the controversial DNA evidence, and the dramatic courtroom battles that ultimately led to a conviction.
This is the full story of one of the Netherlands’ most debated murder cases.

NOTE:

In 2011, Nicole van den Hurk’s stepbrother posted a message on Facebook in which he claimed to be his sister’s killer. Following this post, he was arrested in England (where he was living at the time), but he was later released due to a lack of evidence.I chose not to include a detailed account of this confession in the video. I have seen multiple videos on YouTube portray it as a heroic act to renew attention and reopen the case. However, the available Dutch sources I could find do not clearly establish his motives. I have heard interviews with him in which he states he did do it to renew the case but also other confusing and somewhat contradictory interviews. I did find that, in later statements, he also accused his father of being responsible and claimed that Nicole was pregnant by her father at the time of her death, serious allegations that I do not know to be ever proven.Because of these inconsistencies and uncertainties, I felt it was more responsible to mention his brief status as a suspect without presenting the confession itself or speculating about his intentions. Since, in the end, it was clear that Jos de G. was the perpetrator, I kept that as the main focus of the story.

If you want to support The Lowest Crime and get early access to episodes, occasional bonus content, and behind-the-scenes updates, you can find my Patreon at patreon.com/thelowestcrime.