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Blonde Dolly

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Blonde Dolly
Blonde Dolly's house in The Hague, photographed after her death.
Blonde Dolly's house in The Hague, photographed after her death.
Born
Sybille Alida Johanna Niemans

(1927-09-27)September 27, 1927
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
DiedOctober 31, 1959(1959-10-31) (aged 32)
The Hague, The Netherlands
Cause of deathStrangulation
Body discovered2 November 1959
Resting placeWestduin Cemetery, The Hague
NationalityDutch
Other namesZwart Dolly
Blonde Dolly
Sebilla van den Bergh
Occupation(s)prostitute, businesswoman
Known forMurder victim
SpouseBotto van den Bergh
Parents
  • Hendricus Johannes Niemans (father)
  • Sebilla Alida Johanna Streelder (mother)

Sybille Alida Johanna Niemans (27 September 1927 – 31 October 1959), known as Blonde Dolly, was a Dutch prostitute and businesswoman who was murdered by strangulation. Her murderer was never caught.[1]

Biography

Sybille Niemans was born in Amsterdam-West on 27 September 1927. Her father, Hendricus Johannes Niemans (born 1899), was a shoemaker; her mother was Sebilla Alida Johanna Streelder (born 1900). When she was young, after her chronically ill mother was admitted to hospital, Niemans and her elder brother were sent to the Groot Kijkduin children's home in Zandvoort. When Nazi Germany occupied the area during the Second World War, Niemans and her brother went back to Amsterdam to live with their father, who by now had become married to a new wife.[1]

As she did not get on with her stepmother, Niemans left home looking for a job and accommodation. Through a fortune teller and a purported Italian sailor who was, in fact, a pimp, she entered prostitution in the Kerkstraat. After being investigated by police, Niemans returned to her father and stepmother and started training in dressmaking.[1]

In 1948, Niemans moved to the Hague, where she returned to prostitution and rented a window at 21 Doubletstraat. She was originally known as Black Dolly (Dutch: Zwart Dolly) from her dark hair, but later bleached it.[1] In 1950 she purchased a house at 498 Nieuwe Haven.

Later in 1950, Niemans married Botto van den Bergh, a violinist in Hague's Residentie Orchestra. She accompanied her husband when he was travelling with the orchestra, and was introduced to the worlds of classical music, fashion and art; she occasionally worked as a fashion model. However, Niemans's marriage to van den Bergh broke down after a year and, following a lengthy and complex legal procedure, the couple were divorced in 1957.[1]

Murder

Sebilla Niemans’ grave, Westduin Cemetery, The Hague

Niemans was found dead in bed in her bedroom at 498 Nieuwe Haven on 2 November 1959.[2] It was estimated that she had been strangled on the night of 30-31 October. There were no signs of violence, and a considerable amount of cash was found in the residence by the police. Robbery was ruled out as a motive for the crime.[1] She was buried in the Westduin Cemetery in The Hague South.[3]

The murder sparked a considerable stir. There was speculation that Niemans's "blue book", which the police refused to release to the public, contained names of high-ranking regular customers. This caused rumours that one of Niemans's customers was involved in her murder. No evidence to substantiate these rumours was ever presented, nor that of a political cover-up.[1] The international press picked up the case, linking it to the murder in Germany of Rosemarie Nitribitt in 1957, in which there were also allegations of politicians being involved.[1]

The main suspect in the case was a bodyguard named "Gerard V", whose services Niemans had used after another prostitute, Marietje van Es, had been robbed in December 1958. Gerard had fallen in love with Niemans but she had rejected him. He was never charged, and the investigation closed.[1]

According to the politician Hans Gualthérie van Weezel, his father, the police commissioner Jan Gualthérie van Weezel, knew who had committed the murder. Gualthérie van Weezel Sr. would keep a file on the case at home with the instruction to destroy it after his death. Before carrying out this instruction, his son would have read the name of the perpetrator in the file.[4]

The life and death of Blonde Dolly was incorporated in Michel Dubois' novel Murder on Black Martha (1962), and was portrayed in director Gerrit van Elst's film Blonde Dolly (1987). Casper Postmaa wrote a book about the case.[5][6] In 2019 appeared Blonde Dolly by Tomas Ross with new details about the murder.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nuij, Norbert-Jan (16 May 2017). "Niemans, Sebilla Alida Johanna (1927-1959)" (in Dutch). Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Vrouw te Den Haag vermoord Politie tast in duister ten aanzien van dader" [Woman murdered in The Hague Police are in darkness with regard to the perpetrator]. Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. 3 November 1959. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Sebilla Alida Johanna "Blonde Dolly" Niemans". Find a Grave. 9 August 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  4. ^ Ross, Tomas (2005). Plaats delict (in Dutch). Cargo. ISBN 9789023418108.
  5. ^ "Bewaker vermoordde Blonde Dolly" (in Dutch). NOS News. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Casper Postmaa lost mythische moord Blonde Dolly op" (in Dutch). Radio 1. 10 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  7. ^ Teeuwen, Jorinda (8 February 2019). "Blonde Dolly werd vermoord omdat ze te veel wist". Omroep West (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Tomas Ross over Blonde Dolly". www.nporadio2.nl. NPO Radio 2. Retrieved 13 March 2019.

Further reading

  • Hans van Straaten, Moordernaarswerk, 1990, Amsterdam
  • J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, Harrap Books, 1996, London
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