Body of woman found in Antwerp in 1992 finally formally identified by tattoo

A woman killed 31 years ago in Belgium has been identified after a family member recognised details of her tattoo, Interpol said on Tuesday.

The police organisation said the cold case was known as “the woman with the flower tattoo” because of the distinctive art on her left arm. Her body was found in a river in Antwerp in June 1992.

She was finally identified recently as Rita Roberts, a 31-year-old British woman, following a joint appeal for help in more than 20 cold cases by Interpol and police in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

A family member in the UK recognised details of her tattoo — a black flower with green leaves — on the news and contacted police, officials said.

A woman who was murdered in Belgium decades ago has been identified after 31 years following an international appeal for information. Photo / AP

The appeal for information in May covered 22 cases across the three countries. Most of them involved women who were killed.

Roberts had moved to Antwerp from Cardiff in Wales. She last had contact with relatives through a postcard she sent in May 1992.

Her family said that although the news was difficult to process, they were grateful to know what happened to her.

“This cross-border collaboration has given a missing girl back her identity, and enabled the family to know she is at rest,” the family said in a statement.

Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock said the case highlighted the need to connect police forces worldwide.