Woman Killed By Stalker She Met On Tinder After He Put Tracking Device On Her Bike
He had been stalking for quite some time.
Facebook A Massachusetts woman who had been studying in the Netherlands was fatally stabbed by a stalker she had met on Tinder.
Mieke Oort, 21, who is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts, was allegedly attacked by a man police have identified as Thomas R., inside of her apartment in Le Leeuwarden, about 90 minutes outside Amsterdam.
Oort, who was a student at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, had recently moved into her apartment following a breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Michael van der Waal.
Mieke Oort was allegedly murdered by her Tinder match after he put a tracking device on her bike.
Following her breakup, Oort began dating Thomas, whom she had met through Tinder. However, when he learned that Oort was thinking of reconciling with van der Waal, he reportedly became violent and started stalking the 21-year-old college student.
He began harassing Oort on WhatsApp, driving up and down her street, and even put a GPS tracking device on her bike, according to van der Waal, who had spoken to Dutch-language news outlet Boevennieuws.
“She was my baby sister,” Oort's sister, Danique Oort told WCVB. “We don't really know how to cope with it. She had just so much more to give and she had a lot of love for everyone.”
Police were notified of Oort's death after receiving a call on Sunday about a fire in her apartment. The fire was quicly extinguished, and authorities were able to find Oort's body.
The fire had allegedly started after Thomas had thrown an incendiary bomb against the house to force the other residents out, though a fight had broken out in the stairwell between two male residents.
Thomas then went upstairs and allegedly stabbed Oort with a sharp object.
"She didn't want to continue [dating] him," van der Waal told the Leeuwarder Courant. "Because he couldn't stomach that, he first stalked her for a while. And out of jealousy, he has now done this."
Thomas R. was arrested after trying to flee to Germany.
He was turned in by his parents, who alerted authorites after receiving a call from their son while he had been in the process of trying to leave the country.
“We are perplexed,” his parents told the Leeuwarder Courant of their son’s alleged crime.
In a statement to the Boston Globe, Dutch police said they have launched “forensic and tactical investigations” and are starting to interview witnesses.
Tinder has been trying to crack down on their in-app safety.
Recently, Tinder has launched a tool for users to be able to launch background checks on people they match with before going out on a date with them.
According to CNN, the new option is part of a partnership between Tinder's parent company, Match Group, and Garbo, a nonprofit background check provider focused on gender-based violence awareness and prevention.
To be able to conduct a search, Garbo asks the user for information, such as a first and last name and a phone number. Also more information, such as age, date of birth, zodiac sign, and zip code, can help surface more accurate results.
Tinder will give its users two free background checks on Garbo to start. For non-Tinder users, or for any subsequent searches, people will be able to purchase one, three, or five credits from Garbo for $2.50 a piece plus a processing fee.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.