Dead woman, 56, found in car trunk at Almelo hospital; local man in custody

A dead body found in a car in the ZGT Hospital parking lot in Almelo on Wednesday was that of a 56-year-old woman, police confirmed. Later that day, officers took a 43-year-old man into custody.

Local newspaper Tubantia reported that the victim was left in the trunk of a car. “Police immediately launched an investigation at the parking lot where the car was located. An investigation revealed yesterday that the woman had died as a result of a crime,” police said in a statement on Thursday.

The victim resided in Almelo, as does the suspect. Soon after the body was discovered by a hospital security worker, forensic investigators also descended on a house a few kilometers away on Zonnebloemstraat. “This home may have been linked to the incident,” police said.

Neighbors in the area said they heard screaming from near the house late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, the newspaper reported. Tubantia said the most plausible scenario being investigated is that the man murdered his partner during the overnight hours, stuffed her body in the trunk of a white car, and eventually drove to the hospital where he confessed to the crime and tried to kill himself.

Regional broadcaster RTV Oost reported that an internal memo from ZGT Hospital stated that the man killed his partner. “Yesterday, a number of things were reported in the media about the possible cause of this incident,” police said in response. “We cannot make any statements at this time about the content of this information and whether it is true.”

“The investigation is still ongoing and we have already spoken to the relevant witnesses. We would like to speak to people who know more, or who have seen something, or who have camera images," said Henk Kremer, a police spokesperson, to Tubantia.