Willem van Eijk

Case record: Willem van Eijk

Background

Willem van Eijk was born in Korteraar on 13 August 1941. He was known as “Het Beest van Harkstede” (“The Beast from Harkstede”). During his time on an elementary school in Ter Aar, he was an outcast and was referred to as “Gekke Willempie” (“Crazy little William”), which he later used to justify his actions. During a period of extreme bullying, van Eijk started to collect morbid items, including dead bugs and frogs. He became well known inside the village for cruelty towards animals, especially dogs, cats and ducks. At high school he remained a loner and ended up with petty crime. During this time he started to dream about raping and killing women.

The offence

Cora Mantel (1971)

In 1971, van Eijk picked up 15-year-old Cora Mantel from Uithoorn. She had missed her bus ride home after meeting with her boyfriend in Amsterdam, and van Eijk found her hitchhiking along the road. Van Eijk raped her and strangled her with her own shawl, before dumping her body in a ditch near Uithoorn. Her body was found on 22 June 1971. Because she was to start a new job at a jewelry store in Aalsmeer, the jeweler was, for a short period of time, a suspect.

Aaltje van der Plaat (19 August 1974)

On 19 August 1974, the lifeless body of Aaltje van der Plaat was found near a road inside a cornfield. She died from multiple stab wounds. Her belly was ripped open, and her left nipple was cut off. At the end of the road lived Willem van Eijk in a houseboat named De Vrijheid (“The Freedom”). Several witnesses had seen van Eijk drive on his moped near the area where the body was found on the evening of the murder.

Michelle Fatol (November 1993)

In November 1993, the corpse of a 23-year-old prostitute was found in a ditch near the village of Enumatil. The corpse was identified as Antoanella Bertholda (Michelle) Fatol. During intimacy, van Eijk strangled her with his bare hands.

Annelies Reinders (21 January 1995)

On 21 January 1995, the body of the 31-year-old prostitute Annelies Reinders was found in the Eemskanaal near Appingendam.

Sasja Schenker (17 July 2001)

On 17 July 2001, the lifeless naked body of the 34-year-old prostitute Sasja Schenker was found in the Slochterdiep near Harkstede. Her clothes were found several months later near van Eijk’s house. The clothes were found to be thrown in the canal in a plastic bag weighted with stones. Because her clothes were found near van Eijk’s house, police soon suspected he was responsible.

Investigation

After the death of Aaltje van der Plaat, police arrested van Eijk, and he confessed to the murders of Cora Mantel and Aaltje van der Plaat.

After further killings were suspected, van Eijk was arrested again on 12 November 2001. He soon confessed to the murders of Michelle Fatol, Annelies Reinders, and Sasja Schenker. Police also suspected him of the murders of Shirley Hereijgers, Antoinnette Bont, and Jolanda Meijer; van Eijk did not confess to those, and there was no further evidence he was involved.

With excavators, the ground around his house was excavated, but no bodies were found.

As of 2013, Jolanda Meijer was still missing.

Arrest

Van Eijk was arrested after police linked him to the area where Aaltje van der Plaat’s body was found, and he confessed to the murders of Cora Mantel and Aaltje van der Plaat.

On 12 November 2001, police arrested van Eijk.

Trial

At the start of the trial, van Eijk was represented by lawyer Willem Anker, which astonished the relatives of Shirley Hereijgers because Willem Anker also represented them. When van Eijk was officially suspected in murdering Shirley Hereijgers, Willem Anker dropped his client.

Van Eijk was sentenced on 7 November 2002 to life imprisonment for the murder of the last three victims. During the earlier trial, the details of the murders revealed during the trial were so horrifying that several judiciary guards had to throw up.

Sentencing

In 1975, van Eijk was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and TBS.

On 7 November 2002, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the last three victims.

Appeals and clemency

Van Eijk appealed the life sentence. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands agreed with the sentence of the court.

Van Eijk repeatedly requested clemency, which could only be granted by the head of state in the Netherlands, but all of the requests were denied.

Outcome

Van Eijk was twice convicted for a total of five murders: Cora Mantel, Aaltje van der Plaat, Antoanella Bertholda (Michelle) Fatol, Annelies Reinders, and Sasja Schenker. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the last three victims.

DNA tests proved his innocence in the cases of Anne de Ruyter de Wildt and Marianne Vaatstra.

He was suspected for the murder of Anne de Ruyter de Wildt in 1997 and for the murder of Marianne Vaatstra in 2000, but DNA tests proved his innocence in these cases.

Aftermath

In 1980, when he was still in the clinic, he married his pen-friend Adri.

In 1990, he was released. He and Adri moved into a house in Harkstede.

Psychiatrists believed that his relationship with Adri would keep him on the “straight path,” but another rejection of a woman could result in repeating murder. The relationship turned out to be a downward spiral for van Eijk.

Timeline

• 13 August 1941 — Willem van Eijk was born in Korteraar.
• 22 June 1971 — The body of Cora Mantel was found.
• 19 August 1974 — The body of Aaltje van der Plaat was found near a road inside a cornfield.
• 1975 — Van Eijk was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and TBS.
• 1980 — Van Eijk married his pen-friend Adri while he was still in the clinic.
• 1990 — Van Eijk was released and moved with Adri into a house in Harkstede.
• November 1993 — The body of Antoanella Bertholda (Michelle) Fatol was found in a ditch near Enumatil.
• 21 January 1995 — The body of the 31-year-old prostitute Annelies Reinders was found in the Eemskanaal near Appingendam.
• 1997 — Van Eijk was a suspect for the murder of Anne de Ruyter de Wildt; DNA tests proved his innocence.
• 2000 — Van Eijk was a suspect for the murder of Marianne Vaatstra; DNA tests proved his innocence.
• 17 July 2001 — The body of 34-year-old prostitute Sasja Schenker was found in the Slochterdiep near Harkstede.
• 12 November 2001 — Police arrested van Eijk.
• 7 November 2002 — Van Eijk was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the last three victims.
• As of 2013 — Jolanda Meijer was still missing.

Other details

Psychiatric and clinical information

Psychiatric reports explained that van Eijk had severe childhood traumas because of bullying and rejection by women. During therapy in the Van Mesdagkliniek, psychiatrists presumed his deviant behavior was the result of brain damage sustained during his birth.

Possible victims and suspected cases

Between 1993 and 2001, several other bodies were found. In 1995, the torso of 24-year-old prostitute Antoinnette Bont was found in the Winschoterdiep, and other body parts were later found in a sports bag. Two years later, in 1997, the body of 19-year-old prostitute Shirley Hereijgers was found. Around the same time, friend and colleague Jolanda Meijer (35) disappeared. Several other men were suspected of these killings, but all turned out to be innocent.

Willem van Eijk never confessed to killing Antoinnette Bont, Shirley Hereijgers, or Jolanda Meijer. Public belief attributed responsibility to him for those killings.

Representation detail

When van Eijk was officially suspected in murdering Shirley Hereijgers, lawyer Willem Anker dropped his client.