Rita Roberts was identified thanks to Operation Identify Me, an international police effort that seeks to identify 22 women who were murdered in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany over the past 50 years.
Antwerp Public Prosecutor ’s OfficeRita Roberts was identified thanks to a distinctive tattoo on her arm .
On June 3 , 1992 , a char ’s body was ground pushed against a river grating in Antwerp . She had been violently killed , but police could n’t shew her personal identity or the identity element of her orca . Now , at least one mystery has been solved . After 31 years , she ’s been identified as Rita Roberts .
“ The news was shocking and heartbreaking , ” Roberts ’ kinfolk sound out in a affirmation reported byThe New York Times . “ Our passionate , loving and devoid - spirited sister was cruelly occupy away . There are no words to in truth express the grief we felt at that time , and still finger today . ”
Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s OfficeRita Roberts was identified thanks to a distinctive tattoo on her arm.
According to theBBC , Roberts go to Antwerp from Cardiff in February 1992 and last communicated with her kinsfolk when she post a post card in May . That June , she was discovered dead against a river grating in Antwerp ’s Groot Schijn River . Since Belgian assurance could n’t identify her , she was dub the “ womanhood with the flower tattoo ” because of a distinctive tattoo on her branch of a flower with “ R’Nick ” write underneath .
Antwerp Public Prosecutor ’s OfficeRita Roberts was identified thanks to her distinctive flower tattoo with “ R’Nick ” written beneath it .
For three decades , Roberts ’ identity element eluded authorities . But in May 2023 , Belgian , Dutch , and German police , along with Interpol , set up Operation place Me . They hoped to identify 22 women like Roberts who had been dispatch in Belgium , the Netherlands , and Germany over the past 50 age by share details about the crime scene and the victim ’ coming into court that are not usually made public .
Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s OfficeRita Roberts was identified thanks to her distinctive flower tattoo with “R’Nick” written beneath it.
“ We ’ve catch to remember that these victims , these women , they ’ve become victims twice , ” Susan Hitchin , coordinator of Interpol ’s DNA unit of measurement , enjoin earlier this class , grant toThe New York Times . “ They ’ve been murdered and then also their identity has been taken from them . ”
When it came to the “ womanhood with the efflorescence tattoo , ” Operation describe Me was extremely efficacious . The same month it was launched , one of Roberts ’ category member spotted her distinctive tattoo in a BBC News article .
“ A extremity of Rita ’s menage [ saw ] the Identify Me invoke through the BBC and all of a sudden realized there may be an chance that a mazed member of their family line had in reality come to harm , ” Stephen Kavanagh , Interpol ’s head of police divine service , explicate to the BBC .
InterpolOperation Identify Me seeks to identify 21 other women in addition to Roberts who were found murdered in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany over the past 50 years.
He added : “ There ’s a terrible contradiction here — we ’re proud that we ’ve been able-bodied to mold with member countries , we ’re proud that we ’ve been able to distinguish this poor woman , Rita , but we ’re also devastated for the family line because they ’ve lost a do it one through savage circumstances . ”
mathematical process Identify Meis looking to discover the 21 other women who , like Roberts , have been give temporary nicknames like “ the woman in the well , ” “ the adult female with the flower dame , ” and “ the char with the artificial nails . ” The BBC report that they include a charwoman whose trunk was found in a trash can float in a river outside Amsterdam in 1999 and a fair sex whose body was found recoil with string and wrapped in a carpet in Germany in 2002 .
InterpolOperation Identify Me attempt to identify 21 other women in gain to Roberts who were found murdered in Belgium , the Netherlands , and Germany over the retiring 50 years .
“ Each of these women were individuals , with families , with friends , with partners , with ambition . And they ’ve all come to damage in brutal circumstance , ” Kavanagh tell the BBC . “ We as global practice of law enforcement have got an opportunity now to try and discover them … and bring closure .
In Roberts ’ case , Belgian authorities are advance anyone who knows anything about her death to get along forwards . apt information can be submitted through a form on Interpol ’s internet site .
While Interpol work on contribute her killer to jurist , Rita Roberts ’ family is focused on retrieve the person they get it on , loved , and drop off .
Rita , they read , was “ a beautiful someone who adore move . She sleep with her home … and always want to have a family of her own . She had the ability to get down up a elbow room , and wherever she went , she was the life-time and soul of the party . We hope that wherever she is now , she is at peace treaty . ”
After reading about the identification of Rita Roberts 31 long time after she was murdered in Belgium , see howNew Jersey ’s “ Princess Doe”was discover 40 geezerhood after her brutal murder . Or , see how authorities in Florida were able to identify a woman acknowledge only as“Trunk Lady”53 years after her murder .
