Locals "horrified" by Hellevoetsluis woman’s killing; Son arrested with head in car

Residents of Hellevoetsluis are shocked by the murder of a 61-year-old woman in her home on Molenstraat on Wednesday. Sources told various media that the woman was beheaded, and one of her sons is in custody. He was arrested on the highway with his mother’s head in the car. Mayor Arno Scheepers said he and the municipality were “shocked and in disbelief about the horrific event.”

AD identified the suspect as Jesse R. from Diemen. A year ago, he shared on the networking site LinkedIn that he no longer had a job. “Now I am looking for an organization that dares to understand the limitations of my manic depression,” he wrote at the time. “And is also not afraid to use my giftedness as much as possible.”

The police responded to the woman’s home at around 2:45 p.m. and found her dead inside. They arrested a 31-year-old man from Diemen on the A4 highway in connection with her death. So far, the police have only said that the woman was killed in a crime and that the suspect is a family member.

Neighbors told Rijnmond that Alia had two adult sons, both in their thirties. “She had good contact with one of them. The other, from Diemen, came by every now and then. Apparently, he suffered from psychoses,” one neighbor said. “Everyone is in shock. Because this is normally a very quiet street.”

Alia was known as a “very sweet woman,” the woman said. “We knew each other, but we didn’t knock on each other’s doors. I didn’t know what was going on.” Another local told Rijnmond that they didn’t know each other personally. “We said hello to each other here on the street. She seemed like a sweet woman to me.”

Until recently, Jesse R. lived on the large student campus, Our Campus, on the edge of Amsterdam, AD reported. The door to his 27 square meter studio was also closed by police tape when the newspaper arrived.

According to the newspaper, most of R.’s neighbors didn’t recognize him when presented with a name and photo. A few said they’ve seen him in the elevator, but the rest said they’ve never seen anyone enter or leave the studio apartment in question.