Prison Sentence and TBS with Compulsory Treatment Demanded for Murder of Love Rival

News report | 06-01-2026 | 11:45

Based on the findings of the pathologist and the statements of the suspect, it has been established that the victim died as a result of stab wounds inflicted by the suspect. According to the public prosecutor, the suspect stabbed the victim three times because he could no longer accept being strung along by the mother of his daughter. He also could not accept that the victim was her new partner and stepfather of his daughter.

Double relationship

The suspect started a relationship with the mother of his daughter in 2019. However, in 2024 the woman reconnected with an old love. From that moment she was in a double relationship. Because the relationship between the suspect and the woman was not going well, the suspect moved into his own apartment on August 22, 2024. However, he was still almost daily at his partners place.

Promise

On Christmas morning 2024, the woman brought her daughter to the suspect. She talked to him briefly and promised to end the relationship with the new partner that evening. The suspect did not trust this and drove to the womans and their daughters home to observe. When the new partner entered the womans home after arrival, this was proof for the suspect that she did not keep her promise to end the relationship with the victim. The suspect then went to the front door of the house with the knife he brought and confronted the womans new partner. The suspect had plenty of time to reconsider. For example, when he decided months earlier to arm himself with a knife. Then on December 26, he decided to return to the womans house to observe.

Only one option acceptable

The file also shows that in the months before the murder, the suspect did not try to solve his problems in any other way. He realized on several occasions that a confrontation could end in violence. Nevertheless, he did not try to resolve the conflict differently. For the suspect, only one option was acceptable: to restore his relationship and remove the victim from their lives.

TBS

The OM believes that in addition to a long prison sentence, TBS with compulsory treatment must be imposed. Experts from the NIFP (Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry) diagnosed multiple personality disorders in the suspect. In addition, a severe cannabis use disorder was diagnosed. The OM considers it an unacceptable risk to release the suspect after serving the sentence without any form of treatment.

Suffering

According to the public prosecutor, the suspect made his daughter, whom he claimed to want to protect, witness a traumatic event. “Although she did not see the stabbing itself, she must have experienced much of what preceded and followed it. Moreover, she will miss her father during most of her formative years.” “The suspect has also caused irreparable suffering to the relatives of Mitchell. They will have to miss him for the rest of their lives.”

The court in Maastricht will give its verdict in two weeks.