Around the same time, Jolanda Meijer (35), Hereijger’s friend and colleague also disappeared. Two years later, in 1997, the body of 19-year-old prostitute Shirley Hereijgers was found. Other body parts were later found in a sports bag. In 1995, the torso of 24-year-old prostitute Antoinette Bont was found in the Winschoterdiep. Possible victimsīetween 19, several other bodies were found. As of 2013, Jolanda Meijer is still missing. The ground around his house was excavated however, there were no bodies found. Police also suspected him of the murders of Shirley Hereijgers, Antoinnette Bont, and Jolanda Meijer however, Van Eijk did not confess to those, and there was no concrete evidence for his involvement. He soon confessed to the murders of Michelle Fatol, Annelies Reinders, and Sasja Schenker. They were found to have been thrown into the canal in a plastic bag weighted with stones.īecause Schenker’s clothes were found near Van Eijk’s house, he became a prime suspect and on 12 November 2001, police arrested Van Eijk. Her clothes were found several months later near Van Eijk’s house. Sasja Schenker – On 17 July 2001 the lifeless, naked body of the 34-year-old prostitute Sasja Schenker was found in the Slochterdiep near Harkstede.Several years later both murderers of these two women were caught. In 1997, Van Eijk was a suspect for the murder of Anne de Ruyter de Wildt, and in 2000 for the murder of Marianne Vaatstra however, DNA tests proved his innocence in these cases. Annelies Reinders – On 21 January 1995 the body of the 31-year-old prostitute Annelies Reinder was found in the Eemskanaal near Appingedam.īetween his release and his second arrest there were eight prostitutes, and several other young women murdered in and around the area of Van Eijk’s residence.During sex Van Eijk strangled her with his bare hands. Antoanella Bertholda (Michelle) Fatol – In November 1993 in a ditch near the village Enumatil the corpse of a 23-year-old prostitute was found.The relationship turned out to be a downward spiral for Van Eijk. Psychiatrists believed that his relationship with Adri would prevent him from reoffending, but warned that subsequent female rejections could trigger a relapse. In 1990 he was released and together they moved into a house in Harkstede. In 1980, while still in remand, he married his penfriend Adri. During his therapy at the Van Mesdagkliniek, psychiatrists speculated that his deviant behavior was the result of brain damage sustained during his birth. Psychiatric reports explained that Van Eijk had severe childhood trauma as a result of bullying and rejection by women. The details of the murders, as revealed during the trial, were so horrifying that several judiciary guards vomited. In 1975, Van Eijk was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and TBS. The police arrested Van Eijk and he immediately confessed to the murders of Cora and Aaltje. Several witnesses had seen Van Eijk ride his moped on the evening the body was found, near the area where the body was found. Willem van Eijk lived in a houseboat named De Vrijheid (The Freedom) at the end of the road. She had suffered multiple stab wounds, her belly was ripped open, and her left nipple was cut off. Aaltje van der Plaat – On 19 August 1974 the lifeless body of 43-year-old Aaltje van der Plaat was found near a road inside a cornfield.Because on the morning of the murder she was to start her new job at a jewelry store in Aalsmeer, the jeweler was, for a short period of time, a suspect. He raped and strangled her with her own shawl, before dumping her body in a ditch near Uithoorn. Having missed her bus ride home after meeting with her boyfriend in Amsterdam, Van Eijk found her hitchhiking. Cora Mantel – In 1971 he picked up the 15-year-old Cora Mantel from Uithoorn.During this time he started to dream about raping and killing women. Still a loner when attending high school, Van Eijk committed petty crimes. He soon gained notoriety in his home village for his cruelty towards animals especially dogs, cats, and ducks. During this time of extreme bullying, Willem started to collect morbid items, such as dead bugs and frogs. During his time at an elementary school in Ter Aar he was an outcast and referred to as “Gekke Willempje” (Crazy little William), something he later used to justify his actions. Willem van Eijk was born in 1941 in the small village of Korteraar, South Holland. He was convicted twice for a total of five murders.
WILLEM VAN EIJK SERIAL
Willem van Eijk (born in Korteraar, 13 August 1941) is a convicted Dutch serial killer known as “Het Beest van Harkstede” (The Beast of Harkstede).