Woman stabbed to death on Kerkrade street; Stalker arrested, locals say

A 42-year-old woman was stabbed to death on the street in Kerkrade on Wednesday afternoon. A 52-year-old man was arrested in Heerlen after a three-hour manhunt. The victim is known as 'Aunt Reagan' in the neighborhood, and the suspect is her ex who has been stalking her for some time, local residents told the Telegraaf.

The woman was attacked on Erensteinerstraat at around 1:15 p.m. She died at the scene, despite attempts to resuscitate her. Bystanders told newspaper AD that her throat was cut, but the police would not confirm this. The suspect, also from Kerkrade, fled on foot. The police caught up to him and arrested him in Heerlen at around 4:00 p.m.

Local residents told the Telegraaf that 'Aunt Reagan' was killed by her ex-husband. "He already had a restraining order", a neighbor said. "She went to the police multiple times."

A friend described the victim as a woman with a heart of gold. "All the children called her aunt. She really was a neighborhood mother where everyone was always welcome. It is really awful that this happened to her", the friend said to the newspaper.

Another friend told the Telegraaf: "Reagan has been harassed by her ex for a long time. You don't just get a restraining order. But like so often happens with stalking cases, the police can't do anything until something happens. Now the time has come, someone is dead. That isn't right. Politicians should do something about this. This man should have been plucked from the street a long time ago. That can be seen now. But it is too late and that feels very unfair."

This is not the first time that a woman is killed by an ex who she had already reported to the police. The same happened to 16-year-old Rotterdam girl Humeyra Ergincanli, who was gunned down at her school in December. Her 31-year-old ex-boyfriend confessed to the shooting. A year ago 24-year-old student Laura Korsman was stabbed to death in her home in Utrecht. Her ex-boyfriend was arrested as a suspect. In both cases the police knew that the suspected men were harassing their victims.