Man arrested after woman found dead in Schiedam apartment

A 34-year-old man was arrested Friday afternoon after the body of a 36-year-old woman was discovered in a ground-floor apartment on Rotterdamsedijk in Schiedam. Police reported that they are treating the case as a possible homicide.

According to neighbors, the man arrested is believed to be Damian, a Polish resident of the building, who had been barred from entering the street under a court-issued restraining order, according to De Telegraaf. The woman’s identity has not yet been officially confirmed, but residents suspect she may have been his wife.

“A friend of ours, who works at a Polish supermarket, got a message from him around one o’clock in the afternoon,” a neighbor told De Telegraaf. The woman’s body was found roughly an hour earlier in the apartment.

Witnesses reported that the suspect fled the scene by bicycle, but was taken into custody shortly after. His age reportedly matches that of Damian, known to many in the area.

“He wasn’t allowed to come here anymore,” another neighbor told De Telegraaf. “There had been arguments between him and his wife for several days. I think she called the police, and officers came here multiple times. He told me he had a restraining order, and still he was here.” The neighbor said he didn’t know if the order was issued for threats or violence but confirmed there was “constant conflict” between the couple.

“Damian is not a bad guy,” the neighbor added, “but he’s got a big mouth. He argued with other neighbors too, but he knew almost everyone on this street. I’ve lived here for over ten years and don’t even know half as many people as he did.”

Another resident described the woman as “not easy either.” “She keeps to herself when others are around,” the man told the newspaper, “but when they’re alone, she can be loud. She used to have another partner before Damian, and there were constant fights then too. That guy once had to spend a night at my place after things got out of hand.”

As neighbors spoke outside, forensic investigators in white suits moved in and out of the cordoned-off apartment. The upstairs neighbor, who had just returned with his child and some toilet paper, told De Telegraaf he was shocked to learn that a body had been found in the home below his.