Mother arrested after one child found dead, second child hurt in Almere home

Emergency services workers found one child dead, and a sibling injured in an Almere home on Tuesday, police confirmed in a statement the following morning. The mother of both children was taken into police custody while the case was under investigation.

Police found the children in an apartment on Bovenloop in the Almere Haven district at about 11:30 p.m. Sources close to the investigation told the Telegraaf that the deceased child was a one-year-old baby, and the injured child is a two-year-old girl.

The officers who first arrived at the scene attempted to resuscitate the baby, but their efforts were in vain. The toddler was found wounded with the baby, and she was cared for at the scene. Police confirmed she was hospitalized, "and is doing well."

It was not clear why police officers were sent to the address in the first place. At the same time police arrived, records show firefighters, paramedics, and an air ambulance were dispatched to the same location.

The only adult present at the home when police entered the apartment was the children's mother. Details about her age and her place of residence were not officially disclosed, but sources told Omroep Flevoland that the mother lived in the apartment with her children. She was detained in the home and brought in for questioning.

Photographs taken from the scene on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning showed two forensics investigators searching for trace evidence at the top of an enclosed stairwell leading to a second-floor apartment. Police spoke with several individuals at the scene as officers searched for witnesses.

Forensic investigators were still at the location later on Wednesday. Part of the area outside the apartment complex was cordoned off for an extended period of time.