Torso of a man found in the IJ near the NDSM wharf, identified years later as Aleksandr Levin

On Wednesday 30 January 2013 a passer-by saw a package floating in the IJ, close to the NDSM wharf on ms. van Riemsdijkweg in Amsterdam-Noord. Inside the blue plastic was a man's torso. The remaining body parts were never found. His identity stayed unknown for years and he was buried anonymously at Sint Barbara cemetery, where other nameless victims of violence lie. The investigation produced a strikingly detailed description: a man estimated at between 45 and 62, about 1.70 metres and eighty kilos, with blue or green eyes and probably Eastern European parents. He had a horseshoe kidney - the lower ends of both kidneys fused in the middle of his body - and two kidney stones, for which he may have been under treatment. The knots used to wrap the body were not ones everyone can tie. A skipper had seen the package floating earlier and had noticed a white van on the quay at the time. In 2022 the case formally became a cold case, and shortly afterwards a name emerged after all: DNA from a relative who had reported him missing in his home country identified him as Aleksandr Levin (65), a wealthy Russian dealer in art and antiques. Levin had flown from St Petersburg to Amsterdam on 17 January 2013 and was due to travel on to Gran Canaria the next day, but never boarded that flight. On 7 November 2023 police arrested a 62-year-old Amsterdammer: his DNA matched traces on the torso and the wrapping, and the torso had been pulled from the water close to his home in Noord. By the end of November 2023 he was free again, though he remained a suspect. A reward of 15,000 euros remains open for the decisive tip.