Els Borst had strange visitor before she died

Just a few days before she died, former Minister Els Borst was visited at her home by an unknown, seemingly delusional man.

Telegraaf reports today having interviewed Borst’s hairdresser who had heard the story from the lady herself. The former Minister had told him that on the morning of January 29 a strange man rang her doorbell and asked for the address of former Prime Minister Wim Kok. The hairdresser said Borst told him the man looked confused, so she brushed him off, and he left her home. “I asked her if she thought he was a homeless man and she didn’t think so. But she did say he was not dressed in his Sunday best,” the hairdresser said. Borst told him the man was probably a patient from a nearby mental institute. He said Borst didn't seem upset when she told him about the strange encounter a few hours later. “She thought it strange,” the unnamed hairdresser reported, adding though that the retired politician never came across as panicky. “She was a clearheaded, jolly grandma,” he said, recalling that he used to have Borst (81) in his chair at least once a week. He said the story of the strange man slipped into the background, but after the former Minister was found dead in her Bilthoven home on February 10, it started to disturb him. It took him another week to call police though. “After a week I told myself I must call the authorities. I have told detectives the entire story,” he told Telegraaf. Borst, a retired D66 politician and former Minister of State, was found dead in her home on February 10 by a friend who was concerned after she uncharacteristically missed some events without cancellation. Forensic detectives quickly ruled her death to have likely been the result of a crime, but the investigation stalled since and no suspect has been identified.