Girl arrested in parents’ murder probe “sent photos to friends”

The teenage girl arrested for killing her parents earlier this week spread photos of them covered with blood via WhatsApp before she was picked up, the Telegraaf reported on Friday.

The bodies of Johan and Mathilda, both aged 53, were found in their home in Meerstad, a new town just east of Groningen, in the early hours of Thursday morning. Their daughter, now said to be 15 not 13, was arrested shortly afterwards.

“Her father was on the ground, her mother on the bed,” one girl who claimed to have seen the photos, told the paper. “There was blood and a knife.” Other pupils at the Vaklyceum Montessori school also told the paper they had seen the images or knew someone who had.

The Telegraaf says it has been told by the girl’s classmates that her behaviour had become strange, and that she was struggling with her identity.

Some pupils said she wanted to be addressed as “he” while others said she identified as a dog. Some also said she had not been at school for a long period.

Neighbours described the family as loving and kind but told the AD they had seen the girl running down the street late at night, or sitting silently on top of the roof of the shed. “She was always strange and kept herself to herself,” neighbour Heleen told the paper.

The family home, the Telegraaf said, had recently been sold for almost €500,000 and they were planning to move to another, bigger, property in the area.

As yet it is unclear how the police were alerted to the deaths. Locals have suggested the girl herself made the call but others have said it was a school friend who received the photos via WhatsApp.

The police have not yet issued any further statements about their investigation but told the Telegraaf any photos of relevance to the killing should be sent to them.