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Croiset the Clairvoyant - Jack Harrison Pollack

Two Children Slain in the Woods

Croiset dipped back nine years to obtain vivid impressions of an unsolved 1940 murder of two young Dutch children, a brother and sister in the small town of Vlijmen.

The youngsters' bodies were found in a deserted spot in the woods. This shocking double murder seemed based on sexual motives. Although the police suspected a certain man of being the killer, their suspicion couldn't be substantiated with concrete evidence.

For nine years, the case remained dormant. In March 1949, judicial authorities reopened it After the presiding judge had consulted with Professor Tenhaeff, a psychoscopic experiment was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon in late March in the Court of Justice at nearby s’Hertogenbosch, the capital of North Brabant - province. Several judges arranged to attend this session. Croiset was kept completely in the dark on what he was to be consulted about. It was deemed enough to ask him, "Are you willing to try to obtain some impressions on an important unsolved case?"

Croiset agreed.

While driving with Professor Tenhaeff from Utrecht to s’Hertogenbosch, the sensitive suddenly remarked, "About an hour ago, I had a spontaneous impression that this consultation concerns the murder of two young children. I saw their two bodies lying across each other in the woods. Is that correct, professor?"

"I was told as little as possible about this case," replied the parapsychologist. "I only know that you must try to give your impressions about an unsolved case." To avoid Croiset "fishing out" any information, he had also arranged ahead of time that few, if any, remarks were to be made during the experiment.

After the professor and the paragnost arrived at the court, they went directly to the judge-commissary's chambers. On a table were two sealed cardboard boxes. Croiset immediately began giving the following impressions which were recorded by both Tenhaeff and the court clerk:

"Was a shoe found covered with blood? I see a shoe with blood. (Correct. In the left-hand box was a shoe covered with bloodstains).

"I have to concentrate on Ermelo-Veldwijk. Those kind of people are there. (This remark suggests that the murderer should be in a mental institution such as the one in the Ermelo-Veldwijk district which Croiset often motored past.)

"I get the impression of rubber gloves. Who wore rubber gloves? (This impression might relate both to the doctor dissecting the bodies and to the police officer placing the inductors in the boxes.)

"A body was found by the side of the road. . . . More than one body was found. I see a boy and a girl lying near each other. They are both dead. (Correct. Two dead bodies of a boy and a girl were found lying upon each other.)

"Were they killed by stabbing with a knife? It happened nine years ago . . . at the beginning of the war . . .in August. (The knife stabs probably refer to the dissection. The children were murdered on August 30, 1940.)

"I see defects of their necks." (Correct. The brother and sister were strangled.)

The two boxes were then opened.  Croiset took a wooden shoe from one of the boxes and emphatically declared, "There is a connection between this wooden shoe and a forester, (Correct. This wooden shoe was found at the scene of the murder by a forester.)

"In what way is Stevens involved? (Croiset's mentioning the name 'Stevens' was uncanny because the suspect's name was 'Stevensen'.)

"Now, I see the two children again. I see both of them bicycling. . . . (The children were riding their bikes trying to collect fallen tree fruit.)

"The children's father wore corduroy trousers. (Correct.)

I see him walking around in them. He has five more children (Correct. In August 1940 he had seven children.)

"Was tin foil found near the bodies? (Correct. The children had ice cream on the way and this had been wrapped in tin foil.)

"I see the children sitting. They were followed by a man.  He looks at them. He is a poacher. He lays snares. . . First the boy was beaten down, and afterwards the girl. Both the children were strangled. But the boy was first beaten on the head." (Authorities believe that the murderer acted in this way.)

Though this information of Croiset's amazed the judges and was parapsychologically correct, it didn't provide enough new legal evidence to justify a prosecution and conviction. However, it persuaded the judges that Gerard Croiset had unmistakable gifts which law-enforcement officers could effectively utilize.