The Family of a 17-Year-Old Romanian Girl Murdered in 1999 in Belgium Was Announced That She Was Caught, After 25 Years

On the night of May 16, 1999, the body of Ioana, a 17-year-old Romanian, was found in Dries Street, in Antwerp. She had been killed violently. “The coroner counted about twenty cuts and stab wounds,” the public prosecutor’s office in Antwerp said.

The daily 7sur7 writes that the suspect was then an Albanian who is now 51 years old and who was known as Arturo Vrenoz.

“The investigation revealed that the victim had been seen with her alleged pimp in a nearby cafe shortly before the incident. Witnesses then saw a man running away. That man was staying in our country with a false identity. After the deed, he fled abroad,” the investigators said.

Authorities were unable to locate the suspect for several years and the file thus became a “frozen case.” But advances in forensic science led to the reopening of the investigation. A glove found at the crime scene made it possible to create a DNA profile of the suspect.

In the search for the possible suspect, the police cooperated with the Albanian authorities and Interpol. “The possible suspect is said to have left Albania in 1993 and arrived in Italy in 2002,” the prosecutor’s office said. “He again used a false identity for this. In Italy, he was checked several times by the police. Based on all the new elements, the investigating judge issued a European arrest warrant and the man was wanted. Thanks to international cooperation, the man could be located”.

On August 21, 2023, the man was arrested in Rome. After the extradition procedure, he was flown to Belgium on April 5. The investigative judge in Antwerp arrested him the next day for murder. A comparative DNA test that was conducted in the meantime revealed a match to DNA found at the crime scene. The man appeared for the second time in front of the council chamber on Monday and his detention was extended.

The victim’s family has now been informed about the new developments in the investigation, the quoted statement added.

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