15yo was murdered and the killer got away. Years later, her brother confessed to the crime… to catch the real killer

Nicole Van Den Hurk went missing in the Fall of 1995. Several weeks later her body was found but authorities were not able to find her killer. Many years later, her step brother, Andy Van Den Hurk would confess to the grisly crime, however, his confession was false, Andy hadn’t killed his sister but it was all a part of his plan to catch the real murderer.

Nicole had left her grandmother’s house in the Netherlands on the morning of October 6, however, she would never make it to work. Several weeks later, on November 22, her body would be found in the woods. She had suffered a brutal assault with injuries to her hands, chest and jaw (which had been broken in two places). 

Authorities suspected Nicole’s step-father and her step-brother, Andy, but both were quickly ruled out and pretty soon the case went cold. After 16 years of no answers, it was looking like the murder of 15-year-old Nicole Van Den Hurk would never be solved. Her body had long been buried and the person behind her assault and gruesome death had been living freely for the better part of two decades. 

Andy comes up with a ploy to find his sister’s killer

While Nicole’s family had tried to move on with their lives, the traumatic death of his little sister had been playing on Andy’s mind the whole time. In 2011, he made a surprise post to Facebook, he wrote, “I will be arrested today for the murder of my sister, I confessed [and] will get in contact soon.” Andy was living in England at the time and so was held by British authorities until he could be extradited to the Netherlands.

Days later Andy was released by the Dutch authorities as he had not actually committed the crime, however, his ploy had worked. Since Nicole’s death, forensics has advanced in leaps and bounds, he had hoped his confession would spark a renewed interest in the case leading the authorities to exhume his step-sister’s corpse and re-examine it, making use of new methods and technologies.

And that is exactly what happened. In 2011, three DNA samples were collected from her body, that of her boyfriend, an unknown male, and a man identified as Jos De G as per the Daily Star. Jos De G was ultimately charged with the sexual assault and killing of Nicole Van Den Hurk.

Sadly, Andy Van Den Hurk would pass away ten years later in August of 2021. However, his bold and incredibly risky move paid off in finally getting justice for his sister. Andy risked his reputation and even his freedom to get to the bottom of this murder. Nicole’s killer was initially sentenced to five years in prison although it was increased to 12 after he tried to appeal.