Sarah Papenheim texted her friends about her roommate, who has been arrested in connection with her death.
The American student killed in Europe last week sent a now-chilling text message to a friend right before her death.
Sarah Papenheim, 21, was found stabbed to death last week in the Netherlands. Before she was killed, Papenheim had sent a friend in the U.S. a text message sharing her fears about the roommate.
"My roommate told me he's gonna kill 3 people. So I'm gonna have to go to the police," she texted a friend, Adam Pryor.
Pryor told Inside Edition he was concerned when he received the message "not for her but for other people," he said.
"But now, looking back, she was in great danger. I thought she would just take care of it, go to the police, and everything would be OK and she’d be OK but that is obviously not what happened," he said.
The American student was studying psychology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and was planning to come back to the U.S. for Christmas with her family in Minnesota.
Papenheim’s roommate, Dutch national Joel Schelling, was arrested at a train station 60 miles from the apartment they shared.
Her mother says the last time she spoke with her daughter she told her to stay away from the roommate, who had been acting strangely. The suspect remains in police custody.
While the tragedy will concern parents whose children want to study abroad, there are steps young people can take to minimize the dangers of foreign travel.
Sheryl Hill's 16-year-old son, Tyler, fell ill and died while on a cultural program in Japan. She founded the website "Depart Smart" to give advice for anyone planning a trip abroad.
One crucial tip is know the emergency phone numbers in the country you're visiting.
“When Tyler was in Japan, he tried to dial 911, the number there is 119,” she told Inside Edition. “It's not enough just to know the number; you also need to know how to ask for help in the local language because the other end may not speak English.”
Another tip is to make sure you know where the U.S. Embassy and local hospitals are relative to your location.
“It's important to map out your destination so you know where to go to get help,” Hill said.
Hill says the fact that Papenheim died abroad makes the tragedy even more heartbreaking.
“It is a whole different world of hurt for that family,” she said. “The whole red tape around bringing somebody that you love home is a very difficult thing.”
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