What was that again? A chronological overview of the Heul girl.
The Heul girl was born somewhere between 1960 and 1964. For the first seven years of her life she lives in an area between the Eifel and the Ruhr area. In the year before her death, she spent at least four months in the former GDR or elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
Around 1975 she lives in the Netherlands for a year. Prior to her death, she was fed one-sided food, later research shows. This can indicate extreme poverty, but also kidnapping.
On October 24, 1976, the body of the Heul girl was found at the then parking lot De Heul on the A12 near Maarsbergen. She’s probably been dead for weeks or months by then. The girl is 160 cm tall and has auburn hair. Her identity is unknown and she is buried in Maarsbergen.
Ten years later, in 1986, the remains are named Monique Jacobse. This girl from De Bilt went missing on April 7, 1975 and after an investigation, the OM is convinced that she and the Heul girl are the same person. DNA testing does not yet exist. The remains are reburied in Maarn under the name of Jacobse.
In 1994 a suspect is arrested for the murder of Monique Jacobse. It concerns Harry A. from Maarsbergen, he teaches at a boarding school in the area. Harry A. confesses to the murder but then withdraws that confession. Shortly afterwards he dies, suicide is not ruled out.
In 2006 Monique Jacobse reported to her family. She is not dead, but has chosen to build a new life in Germany.
The remains of the Heul girl are exhumed and DNA is taken. The age of the Heul girl is estimated to be about 18 years old. Researchers are having a reconstruction of her head made.
Over the years, several names have been mentioned, such as the name of Marjo Winkens in 2008. But DNA research shows that she is not the Heul girl. There appears to be no match with the DNA of Marjo’s deceased mother.
In 2010, the German Bundeskriminalamt carried out the first DNA investigation in their database of missing persons. There is no match.
In 2012, the police and judiciary demand extensive attention for the Heul girl. The authorities unleashed a true media offensive with reports and conversations in Opsporing Requested, Bureau Hengeveld and Tros Vermist, among others. In September of that year there is also attention in the German investigation program Aktenzeichen XY Ungelöst.
A year later, the remains of the Heul girl are dug up again. Progressive technology makes more possible. For example, new research by the NFI provides a better DNA profile. She turns out not to have reached the age of 18, but between 13.5 and 15 years. Isotope research reveals her German ancestry. The police say in the media that an official request for a kinship investigation has been submitted to the police in Germany at that time.
At the end of 2013, there was again a lot of attention for the case. It yields almost a hundred tips. Following these tips, the police are looking for an American soldier. But there is no breakthrough.
On March 14, 2016, the police announced a large-scale DNA relationship investigation. The Utrecht policeman Wim Perlot says at that time that the German authorities have given permission. This later turns out not to be true.
At the end of 2018, the police confirm that such a large-scale DNA relationship study has never been started. On April 8, 2022, the police again say that the relationship investigation has started, but that also turns out to be incorrect, the Public Prosecution Service says that the examining magistrate must first give permission. That permission will eventually come in August 2023