Unsolved Crimes International Org. Column in Web Mystery Magazine, Fall 2005

Marinus and Sary Polderman

Sometime in the afternoon of August 31, 2000, probably between two and three thirty, 63 year old Ann Gipson-Lewis arrived at her elderly parents' house to deliver groceries. Instead of visiting with her parents at their designated "coffee time", police say she interrupted one of the most vicious and brutal crimes in Kalamazoo County's history and became a victim herself.

Marinus and Sary Polderman were known to their neighbors as a loving immigrant couple who sold flowers and vegetables at a roadside stand. Marinus was 93 years old, his wife Sary was 91. They lived in a nice, friendly house in the 6100 block of Bishop Road in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It was there that they, and their daughter, were found murdered.

Whatever the motive of the killings might have been, the crime was a terrible exercise in overkill. All three of the victims had been beaten with a baseball bat, stabbed and had their throats cut with a machete. Ann was struck in the head with a heavy iron object of some kind that had a nut on the end of it. The blow was so savage parts of her scalp were left on the stairway to the basement where her parents bodies were found.

There is some speculation that the crime was a robbery gone wrong. It was rumored that the Poldermans kept a large amount of cash in the house and police theorize that the intruder(s) might have entered the house for the money. Police have speculated that someone, perhaps a drug user, chose the house at random and things deteriorated rapidly after he entered. Most, if not all, of the weapons used in the attack evidently belonged to the Poldermans and had not been carried there. Because there was more than one weapon used, some theorize that there were more than one intruder.

There are some things that could contradict the robbery as motive theory. For example, if robbery were really the motive, why wasn't the house searched better than it was. Cash, unhidden in a kitchen drawer, was found untouched and the house was not "ransacked". Stranger yet, the perpetrator(s) left the victims' jewelry on their bodies.

It's thought that the crime was very rapid, perhaps taking only 15 minutes, and the scene was so chaotic it is thought the perpetrator(s) had little crime experience. Still, there was some attempt to clean up the crime scene, a fan was put up in the living room, the air conditioning had been turned down to 40 degrees and the door was deadbolted closed after the murderer(s) left.

Police believe that it is still possible to solve this case. Trace evidence was left at the scene and fingerprints were lifted that can be matched to the intruder(s) if caught. And there were some things taken from the home that can be traced to the crime. Chief among them is a .22 caliber scopeless Glenfield 20 model rifle with a distinctive stock with the likeness of a squirrel perched on its hind legs holding an acorn carved into it. It also has hash marks carved into the crook of the stock. Also missing were Sary Polderman's purse and a machete knife used to cut flowers.

The person or persons brutal and unfeeling enough to commit this crime are obviously a menace to the public. That is why the police continue looking for the killers, periodically checking for fingerprint matches and consulting outside specialists. Still, the best chance of a solution is through a tip from someone who knows something. If you have any information, please contact Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100. There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Until a resolution is reached, Sary and Marinus Polderman and Ann Gipson-Lewis must be remembered as three people who, through no fault of their own, were violently taken from their loved ones by unsolved crime. They must not and they will not be forgotten.