Man kills his mother and baby (11 months) and jumps from the window

Elfin, an 11-month-old baby boy, and his grandmother Pauline Christine Sweijs, aged 68, were killed on Friday, 22 July 2016, inside a home on Eendrachtstraat in the Rivierenbuurt area of Amsterdam-Zuid. The perpetrator was Thomas U., the 37-year-old father of Elfin and son of Pauline. Thomas U. had long-standing mental health problems, and his relationship with Shanti Schiks, Elfin’s mother, had recently ended. Because contact between Shanti and Thomas was difficult and unsafe, it had been agreed that Shanti would pick up her son from his grandmother that day at a time when Thomas would not be present. When Shanti arrived at the home in the early afternoon, Thomas U. was still inside. He pulled her into the apartment and produced a hand grenade. Shanti managed to escape in panic and fled to the neighbours, where she called the police. Inside the home, Thomas U. had already killed his mother Pauline. Shortly afterwards, he threw his 11-month-old son Elfin out of the third-floor window. Elfin died immediately from the fall. Thomas U. then jumped from the window himself and also died. Police closed off the street and evacuated nearby homes because of possible danger from the hand grenade and any other explosives in the apartment. In the end, only the one grenade was found to be involved. Because Thomas U. died, there was no criminal trial and no conviction. The case was closed as a family tragedy in which Thomas U. first killed his mother, then threw his own baby son from the window, and finally took his own life. Elfin’s death received wide public attention, partly because his mother Shanti later spoke openly about her loss and wrote a book about her grief. She described Elfin as her “little ray of sunshine”, a happy child who would always remain with her.