Els Borst (R) was last seen in public on Saturday
at a party conference
Dutch police suspect the former health
minister Els Borst, who was found dead on
Monday, was the victim of a crime.
The 81-year-old’s body was discovered by a
friend in the garage at her home near the
central city of Utrecht.
She had suffered an injury and police said
analysis indicated the “most likely” explanation
was foul play.
Els Borst helped push through legislation in
2001 that made the Netherlands the first
country to legalise euthanasia.
She was also behind legislation governing the
use of tissue from aborted foetuses for medical
research.
‘Incomprehensible’
Political figures in the Netherlands have reacted
with shock to the police announcement.
“From investigations up to now it has been
shown that she probably died because of a
crime,” a police statement said.
An initial investigation at the house in Bilthoven
had proved inconclusive, it said, and a post
mortem examination on Tuesday had
established that Ms Borst had not died of
natural causes. Further examination on
Wednesday determined that it was most likely
she had been killed.
A senior judicial spokesman told Dutch TV that it
was possible that she had been attacked by a
burglar.
Els Borst had last been seen on Saturday
afternoon at a congress of the D66 liberal party
she once led. A friend had tried to contact her
on Monday but then went to check on her and
found her body.
Current D66 leader Alexander Pechtold
tweeted: “Very said that Els probably died
through violence. I hope for fast clarity for the
family and that she did not suffer for long.”
Reports said he had been seen in tears.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was a sad
development in what was already a very sad
affair.
Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans wrote on
his Facebook page that he was deeply shocked
by the “incomprehensible” news that a crime
may have befallen such a “dear, gentle, all-
round humane woman”.
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