Marieke Liem on the Police Officer Wendell C. murder case
On Monday 9 September, police officer Wendell C. (Dordrecht) shot and killed his two children and himself. The mother was also shot and died later that night in the hospital. Marieke Liem, Associate Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) spoke with Dutch news website ‘BN DeStem’ about the crime.
A possible factor for this crime may have been the divorce, says Liem. 'The threatening loss of both partner and children. Because when a man and a woman separate, there is a big chance that custody of the children will be awarded to the mother. It may lead to thoughts as: we may not be able to live together now, but what about in the next life? Or: If I can't have them, no-one can.'
Similar situation
Because C. used his service weapon, Liem was asked if situations like this involving police officers happen more often. 'Another well-known case in which a service weapon was used dates back to 2005, when an officer in Hilversum killed himself, his partner and his children. The causality is difficult to establish. But cases like this do occur more often in countries such as America or Switzerland, where fire arms are more commonly available,' according to Liem.
You can read the full article (in Dutch) on BN DeStem.