306:. Other body parts were later found in a sports bag. Two years later, in 1997, the body of 19-year-old prostitute Shirley Hereijgers was found. Around the same time, Jolanda Meijer (35), Hereijger's friend and colleague also disappeared. Several other men were suspected of these killings, but all turned out to be innocent. Van Eijk never confessed to killing these women, but police suspected him. The ground around his house was excavated; however, there were no bodies found. As of 2018, Jolanda Meijer, who disappeared in 1998, remains missing. All three cases remain unsolved.
206:, van Eijk found her hitchhiking. He strangled her with her own shawl and raped her, before dumping her body in a ditch near Uithoorn. Later on, he would explain he felt regretful about his actions because 'she had only lived for such a short period of time,' 'but, I finally had my chance and I took it'. He said, giving more light to his intense desires and dreams to murder and rape women. Her body was found on 22 June 1971.
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his cruelty towards animals; he would enjoy torturing dogs, drowning cats and kicking ducks until they died. When he was 8 years old his brothers described him as 'evil personified'. He had little contact at school and was an outcast. Van Eijk committed petty crimes for a living as his (high) school career did not go well. During this time he started to dream about raping and killing women.
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for "crazy little Willem"), something he later used to justify his outrageous actions. During this time of extreme bullying, van Eijk started to collect morbid items, such as dead insects and dried frogs. He did not enjoy studying and refused to do so. He soon gained notoriety in his home village for
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near
Harkstede. Her clothes were found several months later near van Eijk's house. They were found to have been thrown into the canal in a plastic bag weighted with stones. Because Schenker's clothes were found near van Eijk's house, he became a prime suspect and on 12 November 2001, police arrested
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sustained during his birth. However, van Eijk refused any investigations. He was combative about denying treatment out of 'fear of psychic disintegration'. He was seen as one of the hardest patients the clinic had ever had. In 1980, while still in remand, he married his pen-pal Adri. In 1990 he was
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At the start of the trial, van Eijk was represented by lawyer Willem Anker, much to the astonishment of the relatives of
Shirley Hereijgers, as Willem Anker also represented them. When van Eijk was officially declared a suspect in murdering Shirley, Willem Anker dropped his client. After going
230:. The details of the murders, as revealed during the trial, were so astonishing to the public that several judiciary guards vomited. Psychiatric reports explained that van Eijk had severe childhood trauma as a result of (mostly female) bullying and rejection by women. During his therapy at the
212:– On 19 August 1974 the lifeless body of 43-year-old Aaltje van der Plaat was found near a road inside a cornfield. She had suffered multiple stab wounds, her stomach was ripped open, and her left nipple was cut off. Van Eijk lived in a small, white houseboat on which he had written the words
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Between his release and his second arrest, there were eight prostitutes, and several other young women murdered in and around the area of van Eijk's residence. In 1997, van Eijk was a suspect in the murder of Anne de Ruyter de Wildt, and in 2000 for the
247:. Psychiatrists believed that his relationship with Adri would prevent him from re-offending, but warned that subsequent female rejections could trigger a relapse. The relationship turned out to be a downward spiral for van Eijk.
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on the same evening and in the same area where the body was found. The police arrested van Eijk, and he immediately confessed to the murder of Aaltje, and soon thereafter to the murder of Cora.
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In 2016, van Eijk's farm in
Harkstede was demolished to make way for the expansion of a new residential area. On 19 June 2019 van Eijk died in prison. The cause of death was not disclosed.
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through a series of other lawyers, van Eijk was sentenced, on 7 November 2002, to life imprisonment for the murder of the last three victims. Van Eijk appealed, but the
171:. He grew up in a working-class family. His parents had a lot of kids (8 including Willem), which wasn't unusual at the time. During his time at an elementary school in
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upheld the ruling. Van Eijk several times requested clemency, which in the
Netherlands can only be given by the head of state, and all of the requests were denied.
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the corpse of a 23-year-old prostitute was found. It turned out to be
Michelle Fatol. During sex with Fatol, van Eijk strangled her with his bare hands.
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Between 1995 and 2001, several other bodies were found. In 1995, the torso of 24-year-old prostitute
Antoinette Bont was found in the
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van Eijk. He soon confessed to the murders of
Michelle Fatol, Annelies Reinders, and Sasja Schenker.
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462:"Seriemoordenaar Willem van Eijk ('Beest van Harkstede') overleden in gevangenis"
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436:"Boerderijtje seriemoordenaar Willem van Eijk gaat tegen de vlakte"
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410:"Twintig jaar vermist: wat is er gebeurd met Jolanda Meijer?"
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In 1975, van Eijk was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and
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Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the
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Willem van Eijk was born in 1941 in the small village of
198:– In 1971 he picked up the 15-year-old Cora Mantel from
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488:Anatomie van een seriemoordenaar: een portret
384:"Willem van Eijk – het 'Beest van Harkstede'"
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252:Antoanella Bertholda (Michelle) Fatol
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169:German occupation of the Netherlands
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337:List of serial killers by country
535:Dutch people convicted of murder
359:Anatomie van een seriemoordenaar
317:Supreme Court of the Netherlands
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530:21st-century Dutch criminals
525:20th-century Dutch criminals
490:. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij.
486:van der Zee, Sytze (2006).
416:(in Dutch). 7 February 2018
362:(in Dutch). De Bezige Bij.
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297:murder of Marianne Vaatstra
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145:"Het Beest van Harkstede"
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442:(in Dutch). 7 March 2016
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560:People from Nieuwkoop
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210:Aaltje van der Plaat
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440:rtvnoord.nl
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215:De Vrijheid
196:Cora Mantel
509:Categories
343:References
270:Appingedam
266:Eemskanaal
245:Harkstede
236:Groningen
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161:Korteraar
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