“Isn’t this the worst thing a person can be accused of?”, a neighbor of an Alphen childminder reacts in shock. The 45-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday because a 1-year-old boy died in 2022 after he became unwell in her childcare center. “The owner really had a hard time with it,” says a mother who brought two of her children to the childminder.
The shock is great in the area of the former childcare center. “I find it inconceivable that she is accused of this,” a local resident responds. “Isn’t this the worst thing a person can be accused of?”
“Since then they have lived a very secluded life.”
According to local residents, the incident in June 2022 has had a huge impact on the family of the 45-year-old childminder, who lives in Alphen with her husband and daughter. “Since then they have lived a very secluded life.”
“I find it so difficult,” said another neighbor. She says that she had placed two of her three children with the childminder. “There was no room left for the youngest, so I took him somewhere else.” The mother finds it difficult to talk about it. “I always have very good contact with her. The children loved going to her. She recently attended our New Year’s drinks.”
“They thought he choked.”
According to the first-mentioned woman, the 1-year-old boy became short of breath that day. “The childminder told me he was having trouble breathing. They thought he was choking.” Initially, resuscitation of the child was started, says one of the residents. The emergency services would then have taken over. “Then the ambulance came, the air ambulance… From that moment on it was all terrible.”
The boy was taken to a hospital and died two days later. After investigation, the child turned out to have died from ‘inflicted injuries’, the police reported on Wednesday. Since that fateful day, the childcare center has been closed, about five years after its founding.
“She then stopped herself,” says the mother. “The owner said that she could no longer afford it after everything that had happened. As parents, we of course fully understood that.”
The local resident believes that the investigation took a very long time. “It’s been a year and a half, I think that’s a really long time. The owner was really burdened by it. She really had a hard time with it.” According to the two women, the 45-year-old childminder is known as a friendly, sweet person who is always willing to help.
“But I also find it intense if it turns out afterwards that she didn’t do it.”
“It concerns a one-year-old child, so I understand that everything has to be investigated. That is very good. This is so intense, for both the childminder’s family and the child’s parents. Those parents have the right to know what happened. But I also find it intense when it turns out afterwards that she didn’t do it,” says the mother.
“You take your child to a nice, warm place where she is in good hands. All parents had that feeling before this happened. You are not going to take your child anywhere if you do not have full confidence that your child is safe there.”