The police have arrested a woman from Doetinchem in connection with the case surrounding Sem Vijverberg. The baby’s body was found in January 2006 in a pond in Doetinchem.

It is believed to be the mother of the baby. A DNA test should provide a definitive answer. The woman is suspected of involvement in the death of the newborn child, police said.

The exact role of the woman in the death of the baby is now being investigated. Police are not willing to share any further information about the case at this time. For example, the day of the arrest and the age of the woman are not disclosed.

The police tracked down the woman after an anonymous tip. It came in after a major media campaign in 2021, in which attention was drawn to the still unsolved case. In total, the police received about eighty tips.

The baby’s body was found by playing children in the reed collar of the Kapperskolk in Doetinchem. The baby turned out to have been violently killed. The child was given the name Shem by one of the boys who had found him. The surname Vijverberg was derived from the football stadium of De Graafschap.

The boy was eventually buried on 9 February 2006 in the presence of the mayor of Doetinchem, the police, the families involved who had found Sem in the water and local residents. “The case has always had a major impact in Doetinchem and beyond,” the police said. “In the coming period, the East Netherlands cold case team will conduct further research in search of answers that have remained unknown for sixteen years.”