The police received over 200 tips regarding the murders of couple Gina (55) and Marinus (56) at a Pathe cinema in Groningen on Saturday, the police said on Twitter.
Suspect Ergun S. has psychological problems and his family was working on getting him admitted to a mental health clinic, his sister said to newspaper AD.
The murders happened at the Pathe cinema on Gedempte Zuiderdiep on Saturday morning. Camera footage show suspect Ergun S. (33) entering the cinema at around 7:30 a.m. and leaving a short time later. The couple’s bodies were discovered at around 9:20 a.m. that morning. The couple, who lived in nearby town Slocteren, worked as cleaners and had been cleaning the cinema for years, Gina’s half brother said to AD. The couple had two children, who are in their twenties.
According to mayor Adriaan Hoogendoorn of Midden-Groningen, which covers the village of Slochteren, the murders of Gina and Marinus left the village shaken. A meeting was held for Slochteren residents on Sunday, so that they could share their “powerlessness, bewilderment and feelings of horror”, he said to RTV Noord. “And we wanted to see how we should deal with this as a village community.”
The locals have a strong desire to do something for the couple’s children, who now live in Groningen but used to live in Slochteren, Hoogendoorn said. But they will let the children take the lead in this. “The children knew about the meeting, but they did not attend. They indicated that for now they don’t want anything at all and that is respected by the village”, he said. “The realization that you can lose both parents from one moment to the next in this way, is having a huge impact on the people of Slochteren.”
Suspect Ergun S. from Rotterdam was arrested on Sunday. He was armed with a knife at the time. Police officers shot him in the legs during his arrest. He is still in hospital, according to AD. When he will be arraigned, is not yet clear.
Source: Over 200 tips on cinema murders; suspect has mental health problems, family says | NL Times