Memorial room at the university for murdered student

Sadness is in the air at the memorial room. There’s a picture of Sarah Papenheim on a small table placed against the wall. A memorial book, its pages filled with memories and stories about the student, lies next to the picture. “I can’t believe that you’re gone,” somebody writes. “Rest easy, Sarah, you will be so missed.” Friends, fellow students and acquaintances can visit the memorial room to mourn and share their memories of Sarah.

Fifteen students are sitting around the big table in the middle of the room. They talk to each other softly. “We’re Sarah’s classmates,” says a girl. “Sarah and I were no besties, but we knew each other well.” The students of the International Bachelor Psychology were very upset when they heard the news. “Our year consists of more than 100 students,” says a guy. “But we work together intensively for our courses. So we’re close and know each other pretty well.” Another girl adds: “And certainly Sarah. Everyone knew her as a kind and cheerful person.”

Private room

The ESSB opened the memorial room on Thursday. Since then, the room is never empty as people come to grieve and pay their respect. The space is not open to the public and is only intended for the ESSB community.

The American EUR student died on Wednesday afternoon in her house in the De Snor residence complex on the Kralingse Kerklaan as a result of wounds sustained in a stabbing. Not long after police officers found her in her home, a suspect was arrested at the station in Eindhoven: a 23-year-old Rotterdam resident living in the same complex as Sarah.