Finance planner questioned over death of woman, baby

A 48-year-old man held for questioning in connection with the death of a woman and a baby in an apartment in Diemen on Friday, is financial planner and pension expert Dennis van E., neighbors told newspaper AD. 

The bodies of the woman and child were found in the home on Martin Luther Kinglaan on Friday, the Public Prosecutor announced on Tuesday. The tenant of the home - Van E., according to his immediate neighbors - was detained that same day.

Neighbor Leo Barbiers knows Van E. fairly well, he said to AD. Van E. had been living on Martin Luther Kinglaan for years, but according to Barbiers, the woman only recently arrived. "And that there was a baby in the house, I didn't know at all. We never saw that. We only saw the woman a few weeks ago, but we had the impression that she had moved to live there. I think she was South American or something. If I ever heard Dennis call, he spoke in Dutch first and then switched to Papiamento."

According to the neighbors, Van E. was a "bodybuilder" who loved to gym. They were not aware of any arguments or problems. 

Martin Luther Kinglaan is usually a quiet street, another neighbor Sylvia said to the newspaper. "Nothing actually ever happens here. That is why I am so frightened now. You wonder what the hell happened. A woman and a child died, really horrible. What a drama."

What the relationship between Van E. and the victims was, remains unclear. Initially the police did not think the woman and baby were killed in a crime, but they now have sufficient indications that something more is going on that Van E. was remanded into custody for another two weeks on Tuesday. The suspect is in restricted custody, which means that he is only allowed contact with his legal counsel. It also means that the authorities cannot say much about the ongoing investigation.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service would not tell AD whether traces of violence were found in the home on Martin Luther Kinglaan. "I understand that this case raises questions, but in the interest of the police investigation, we really cannot say anything more than this."