Hendrikje Geerts Meilofs Doelen (June 1, 1784–December 10, 1847) was a Dutch
serial killer.
Poisonings
On May 7, 1819, the farmwife Hendrikje Doelen married the almost six years older Aaldert Mulder in the
Drenthe
Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...
town of
De Wijk. Both were poor day laborers. In 1827, both were admitted to the district's
poorhouse. Suddenly, in 1845 several people mysteriously died. First of all, on April 7, her husband Aaldert and an old woman named Jantje Wichers, who was living with the couple, died. A few days later, the three children of Arend Hut, who also lived in the poorhouse, became ill after eating oatmeal pulp that they had received from Hendrikje Doelen. Half a year later, on October 14, her neighbour Grietje van Buren died after eating pancakes made by Doelen. Her daughter, Evertje, also became seriously ill after eating those same pancakes and died ten months later on August 9, 1846.
Arrest and trial
Doelen was suspected of murdering the persons mentioned. After an investigation it was established that Wichers probably died from a natural death, but both the husband and Grietje van Buren were diagnosed with the presence of
arsenic. Because no legal proof could be provided for her husband's murder, she was finally sentenced to death on January 15, 1847 for the murder of Van Buren by the provincial court of
Assen.
Doelen denied her guilt at the hearing. But the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
rejected her
cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
request, she acknowledged her guilt in her pardon request. She killed her husband because of the marital quarreling and her neighbour and daughter because of spite. The Supreme Court advised negatively about the petition, but the then
minister of justice Marinus Willem de Jonge of Campensnieuwland gave a positive advice, also in view of her age. King
William II granted her clemency by
royal order on November 14, 1847.
On December 2, 1847, she was displayed for half an hour with the noose on the scaffold in Assen. The death penalty was changed to a prison sentence of 20 years. She died, however, after eight days, on December 10, 1847 in the women's prison of
Gouda
Gouda may refer to:
* Gouda, South Holland, a city in the Netherlands
** Gouda (pottery), style of pottery manufactured in Gouda
** Gouda cheese, type of cheese originally made in and around Gouda
** Gouda railway station
* Gouda, Western Cape, a s ...
.
Bibliography
* Koetsveld van Ankeren, J. van ''Hendrikje Geerts Meilofs Targets, widow of Aaldert Mulder: a test of remarkable criminal procedure in respect of poisoning''. Schoonhoven, 1847
* Ruller, Sibo van ''Genade voor recht: Gratification to sentenced to death in the Netherlands 1806-1870'' ed. De Bataafse Leeuw,
Amsterdam, 1987,
* Zeijden, JR van der ''Gifmoord in the District'': Our Value, volume 9 (p. 198-204), ed. Drentse Historische Vereniging, Assen, 1989
See also
*
List of serial killers by country
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doelen, Hendrikje
1784 births
1847 deaths
Dutch female serial killers
Dutch people convicted of murder
Filicides
Mariticides
People from De Wolden
Poisoners
Prisoners sentenced to death by the Netherlands
Serial killers who died in prison custody