The year 2019 was a busy one for the Netherlands, with elections and strikes, multiple high profile murders and shootings, and a summer full of heat records, severe storms and poisonous caterpillars. Here follows a review of the top ten stories of this year.
dog park murders
Nov 4 '19 17:00
The case of 27-year-old Den Haag man accused of fatally stabbing three dog walkers at two separate locations earlier this year was in court on Monday, where prosecutors revealed that the knife used in two of the killings may have come from the kitchen of the suspect’s parents. At the previous hearing in August, Thijs H. confessed to the murders, claiming that he had a psychotic break and that the news reports he had watched told him to commit the heinous acts.
Aug 16 '19 10:48
Thijs H. confessed to stabbing and killing three people while they were walking their dogs in parks in The Hague and Heerlen in May, was revealed during the first pro-forma hearing against the 27-year-old man in the court in Limburg on Friday, NU.nl reports.
May 15 '19 15:20
Thijs H., who is suspected of killing three people in dog walking areas in Scheveningen and Heerlen, was remanded into another 14 days of custody on Wednesday. The 27-year-old man from The Hague will be admitted to the Pieter Baan Center for psychological observation, the examining magistrate decided, NU.nl reports.
H. is suspected of killing three people. He is facing charges of murder or manslaughter, depending on whether premeditation can be proven.
May 15 '19 10:10
A silent march for a man and woman found murdered in Brunssummerheide last week that was scheduled for Friday, has been canceled, the municipality of Heerlen said on Facebook. The families of the 68-year-old man and 63-year-old woman said that they are not prepared to handle a silent march yet.
May 10 '19 12:30
Thijs H., the man suspected of killing three people in dog walking areas in The Hague and Heerlen this week, sought help from the Maastricht psychiatric clinic Mondriaan after stabbing two people to death in Heerlen, the Telegraaf reports based on sources close to the investigation.
May 10 '19 07:36
Thijs H., the man suspected of fatally stabbing three people while they were walking their dogs in The Hague and Heerlen, is or was being treated by the Mondriaan psychiatric institution in Maastricht, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor said on Thursday. The 27-year-old man from The Hague will be arraigned next week, the Prosecutor said.
May 9 '19 14:20
One of the two victims killed in a stabbing at a dog park in Brunssummerheide on Tuesday was 63-year-old Diny who lived around the corner from the nature reserve. Local residents describe her as a very normal grandmother who did volunteer work. She was happily married, regularly went traveling in their camper, and "wouldn't hurt a fly", people who knew her and her husband told De Stentor.
May 9 '19 11:50
Former students of Leiden University are shocked by the news that their classmate Thijs H. is now suspected of three murders. The two former students, who studied in the same faculty as H. in the 2014/2015 academic year, knew him as soft-natured and friendly, if somewhat of a wallflower, Omroep West reports.
May 9 '19 00:22
Police released an urgent public appeal at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, looking for anyone who can help track down an individual they say is responsible for three fatal stabbings in two incidents separated by over 200 kilometers. By 10:30 p.m., the man was arrested in the southern portion of the Limburg province, police said in an update.
May 8 '19 15:50
A 68-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were identified by police as the two people murdered in violent incidents at a dog park in Heerlen on Tuesday morning. The off-leash area is part of the Brunssummerheide, a large nature preserve bordering the Limburg municipality.
May 8 '19 13:30
The police are looking for witnesses or anyone who has information on the murder of a 56-year-old woman in the Scheveningen woods. The woman's body was found on Galgenpad at 3:38 p.m. on Saturday, May 4th.
May 7 '19 15:07
Two people were found killed in a nature preserve near Heerlen. The man and woman were the victims of an act of violence at the Brunssummerheide, police in the Limburg province said.
A person walking in the nature area found the woman's lifeless body along with a dog and called police just before noon. About 30 minutes later a dead man was found near the first crime scene, which was then reported in to police. He also was accompanied by a dog.
May 6 '19 08:47
The body of a 56-year-old woman was found in the woods in Scheveningen on Saturday. The police believe she was killed by violence. Local residents are shocked and disturbed by what happened, Omroep West reports.
Passersby spotted the body on Saturday afternooon and called the police. The Scheveningen woods, close to the World Forum and Madurodam, is a popular place for locals to walk their dog. The victim also did so on a regular basis, according to the police. A large forensic investigation was done at the scene on Saturday and Sunday. And the police are looking for witnesses.
