Sarah Papenheim murder: American student found 'stabbed to death by her roommate' in Netherlands

The 21-year-old was expected to come home for the holidays next week

Sarah Harvard
New York
Friday 14 December 2018 17:05 GMT
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American student stabbed to death in Rotterdam

An American student was stabbed to death—allegedly by her roommate— in her apartment located in Rotterdam, police have said.

According to a police statement, they received reports of a squabble in an apartment in Kralingse Kerklaan, a neighbourhood in the city, on Wednesday. When the police arrived at the scene, they found Sarah Papenheim, 21, with multiple stab wounds and attempted to resuscitate her. Ms Papenheim died of her injuries.

A police investigation led to a suspect. Ms Papenheim’s 23-year-old roommate. The roommate was arrested at the Eindhoven train station.

The suspect appeared before a judge on Friday and was ordered detained for a further two weeks while investigations continue.

The Rotterdam Public Prosecutor's Office tweeted that the 23-year-old suspect, whose identity hasn't been released, was brought before an investigating judge. The hearing was not open to the public.

The American university student moved to the Netherlands to study at Rotterdam’s Erasmus University.

“Sarah studied psychology and lived in the Netherlands since 2016. Our deepest condolences go out to all Sarah’s family and friends at this poignant time,” the university said. “The university is shocked by this terrible incident and is taking care of upset students and employees.”

Ms Papenheim's mother, Donee Odegard, told the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis that her daughter was studying psychology with a focus on suicide. She said Sarah's brother took his own life three years ago.

“My only two kids, and I've lost them both,” Ms Odegard told the newspaper.

Ms Papenheim attended Foothill High School in Shasta County, California.

Her death comes a week before she was expected to come home for the holidays.

“The thing that is going through my head is that she was coming home for Christmas, as we were all so excited to see her and to hear that she was coming back that way, and that was just tragic,” George Moye, a friend of Ms Papenheim, told CNN affiliate KRCR.

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The 21-year-old was a passionate musician—a drummer, to be exact. At 15, she started to frequent open jam sessions around her hometown of Andover, Minnesota, where she met her drumming mentor Jellybean Johnson.

“I liked her because she hit the drums just as hard as the guys did,” Mr Johnson told CNN affiliate WCCO. “So I nicknamed her ‘Thumper.’”

Her high school teacher said it was Ms Papenheim’s dream to be a legendary drummer.

“It was a real drive for her to want to be a great female drummer,” Mr Bahr added. “Not just be that girl drummer but be an excellent female drummer and she did that very well.”

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