Dutch mother, being convicted for leaving her children behind. Her arrest resulted in the death of four policemen and much commotion in the press.
She was born as Aaltje Tuinstra, the illegal daughter of Hinke Tuinstra and a not mentioned father. In a group sheet she is mentioned as the 13th and last child of Kornelis Taekes (Knilles “steam cycle”) Alma (13 June 1847, Surhuizum – 29 January 1933, Achtkarspelen) in an “over den puthaak” marriage with her mother. The “over den puthaak” marriage was also known as a vagrants marriage. Both parents were agricultural workers, most likely underpaid day laborers. Her eldest sister in this free marriage of her parents was Harmke van der Tuin(6 Dec 1874, Surhuizum – 4 April 1961, Grootegast), who married on 12 Aug 1899 Geert Pieter Hamstra; her youngest sister was Feikje van der Tuin (5 February 1895, Surhuizum), who married on 4 Jan 1913 Jelle de Wind. She had a large family and when she left her children, many siblings could take care of them.
Aaltje first worked as housemaid in the family of Guitsen Wobbes (13 0ct 1855, Opende – 12 Aug 1920, Grootegast). His spouse Hendrikje van der Molen (4 January 1858, Doezum- 10 February 1910, Grootegast) had died four years before. Here she became pregnant of his son Hendrik Wobbes (30 May 1891, Opende – 21 Feb 1961, Groningne ). They had to marry. On 29 September 1914, her mother Hinke Eerdes van der Tuin (23 Jun 1855, Surhuisterveen – 5 Dec 1917, Rottevalle) changed her daughters name from Tuinstra into Van der Tuin (E: from the garden) and adopted the child as her own. The marriage took place on 15 October 1914 in Grootegast. They got six children: Hendrikje Wobbes (1914/5), Hinke Wobbes (1917, Opende – Befire 1987), Lutske Wobbes (1920, Opende – ), Tetje (Thea) Wobbes (13 July 1922, Opende- 25 Jan 2009, Schiermonnikoog), Janke Wobbes (23 Jan 1925, Opende) and Guitsen Wobbes (1927, Opende).
November 1928, her husband Hendrik was sent to prison in Veenhuizen for 14 months. Because of the winter, he was unemployed. He was accused of stealing rabbit skins. Aaltje was left alone with six young children. Aaltje soon became desperate and found shelter in the house of Ije Wijkstra, a friend of her husband. On 11 January 1929 she was summoned to go to the judge in Groningen, for leaving her children behind. She refused.
In the early morning of 18 January 1929, four policemen (Mient van der Molen, Herman Hendrik Hoving, Aldert Meijer and Jan Werkman) tried to arrest Aaltje Wobbes-van der Tuin for leaving her children behind. Within the hour of their arrival the policemen lay dead in the snow with their throats slit. Wijkstra set his house on fire and fled the scene but was arrested later that day in the Heerestraat of Groningen. Upon being asked why he did it, he replied “they provoked me”.
Their biographer Libbe Henstra wrote: “Eventually IJje Wijkstra would grow into a folk legend as a tragic hero, an avenger in this rural drama where he was brought down by a degenerate mother. Lots have been written and said about this drama. It was featured in novels, plays and in a motion picture.”
Aaltje was sentenced to a year prison. Wobbes filed for divorce. In 1932, Aaltje moved to Amsterdam, being guided by the Salvation Army. She died in 1961. Wijkstra was sentenced to life long imprisonment in Groningen (April 1929), later to 20 years by the higher court in Leeuwarden. In 1941, Wijkstra who was imprisoned in Leeuwarden, was transported to the state mental hospital in Woensel after a failed suicide attempt. Here he died of tbc.
The murder caused a lot of commotion and was seen as a clash between a civilian and the authorities. The history of Wijkstra inspired several authors, including the Frisian writer Rink van der Velde who wrote the Frisian novel “De houn sil om jim bylje”. In 1980, Pieter Verhoeff made a film titled “Het teken van het beest” (the sign of the beast) about this social tragedy.
The place of verdict is marked by a stone that quotes the Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931): “Wanneer je geest gaat zwerven met de wind, doe je, alleen en onbewaakt, anderen en dus ook jezelf kwaad”. It is an excerpt from The Prophet: “Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, “Speak to us about Crime and Punishment.” It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind, That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself.” It ends with: “You cannot separate the just from the un-just and the good from the wicked;”