Fans usually proceed in a normal manner. However, sometimes someone becomes a little too obsessive, as is the case with Betsie. In the latest episode of Zeeman Confronteert, presenter Thijs Zeeman is presented with a bizarre case. Fan Betsie initially signs up because she is being stalked by folk singer Martin Dams. But what now turns out? She is not the victim, but rather the stalker. Wait, what?
Betsie and singer Martin Dams in Zeeman Confronteert
In Zeeman Confronteert, presenter Thijs Zeeman is introduced to 56-year-old Betsie from Groningen. She tells the story that she is being stalked by folk singer Martin Dams (53) from Overijssel. First she becomes a fan of the artist, after which, she says, a very close friendship develops. But then it turns into stalking behavior from him, according to Betsie. The turnaround occurs as soon as Martin removes her from Facebook. Then she is suddenly added by a young man, to whom she then couples Martin. According to her, he is trying to contact her through this secret route. According to Betsie, they are in a relationship. However, Martin is now also with another woman, who, according to Betsie, is the ‘outside woman’.
However, according to folk singer Martin, the story is very different. He also happens to come to Thijs with a story, but it shows Betsie in a different way. What seems? Betsie is not the victim of stalking behavior, but she is the stalker herself. Huh?
‘Victim’ turns out to be a stalker
During his investigation, Thijs discovers that ‘victim’ Betsie is actually the stalker herself. Martin tells Thijs that he met her in 2015. At that moment she is working behind a market stall during a performance by him and his then band. They have their picture taken and that is how contact is established. She hasn’t left his life since. Although the contact is nice and normal at first, but at a certain point she gets delusions. That’s the moment where she thinks she has a relationship with him.
But actually Martin just has a wife and children. Only Betsie thinks that Martin is cheating on him with this woman. He has a thing for her, right? At a certain point she makes a big fuss and approaches radio stations. She tells them that some songs are about her. In addition, he would sometimes make “vulgar movements” towards her during performances, such as a ‘masturbate’ hand gesture.
Letter to his house
However, things get really scary when Betsie sends a letter to the house of Martin and his wife. The envelope is full of lip kisses and the letter is covered in glitter: it is clearly from Betsie. In the letter she reacts a little disappointed after a performance. “It was not done that I gave other people attention and not her,” he reads in the letter. According to her own words, this caused her to have a nervous breakdown, after which she went home early. Then he also comes across an owl with something very bizarre. There is a small owl on the inside and of course there is a message with it. According to Betsie, that is something they will have together soon. OMG? So she thought she and Martin would have a child. Fiercely!
In a delusion
According to forensic psychologist Eric Blaauw, Betsie is not ‘sick’. “It’s a delusion,” he explains. “People don’t think quite right.” According to him, delusional stalkers are not the most dangerous stalkers, but: “They are certainly not harmless either.” So it is important that she gets help.
This is where Thijs comes into play. He tells her the truth for this reason so that she does not continue unknowingly stalking. He starts with Martin’s so-called account: the young man’s account. “We have been able to confirm 100 percent that the person behind this account is not Martin,” he says. It’s a fake account; a troll. He then tells her that she has falsely accused him. “There’s only one person in this room who exhibits stalking behavior and that’s you,” he says honestly. “And I don’t say that to hurt you, but to wake you up.”
Search for help
Betsie listens attentively to Thijs and is clearly in shock. At the time, she didn’t realize that sending a gift could be scary. She is a bit confused. Of course, she registered with Thijs for another reason: to get rid of Martin. She wants to focus on her own family. And now suddenly the story has turned around in her head. Although it does feel like a “kind of liberation” that she knows all this now. She now also feels bad for Martin and his family. She promises not to bother him again. She will also seek help for her delusions.
