A Dutch national was found murdered in her rental home in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district on Monday morning. Her 19-month-old daughter was injured in the attack and has been hospitalized in serious condition.
No suspects have been identified and police are still searching for a motive, as there was no evidence of a robbery.
Police arrived at the Tonle Bassac commune home of Daphna Beerdsen and her husband Joris Oele shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, after the family’s nanny discovered the bloodied bodies and notified authorities.
“The victim, Daphna Beerdsen, aged 31, was stabbed six times with a sharp metal weapon,” said Mom Sitha, Phnom Penh municipal foreign police chief.
Mr. Sitha said fluid samples had been taken from Daphna Beerdsen’s body to establish if she was raped, and that municipal, district and commune police were cooperating on the case.
Mr. Oele, who is employed by U.N. Habitat, had left Phnom Penh on Sunday for a mission in Preah Sihanouk province, according to neighbors. Daphna Beerdsen also worked as a consultant for the U.N. in Phnom Penh, according to her profile on the social networking website LinkedIn. The U.N. could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Oele arrived back at his home in Phnom Penh shortly after 1 p.m. and was ushered through a crowd of people that had gathered outside the house by a representative of the British Embassy who declined to comment or be identified.
Srey Mom, the nanny, said there was no sign of forced entry when she arrived at the home.
