Demand: 20 years imprisonment and TBS for killing woman (75) from Halsteren

News report | 18-12-2025 | 13:54

On October 10, 2023, the victim took an afternoon walk with her husband at the Vrederust estate in Halsteren. As often, the woman walked on alone after her husband went home earlier. When she did not return home, panic broke out. Hours passed and around half past midnight, the lifeless body of the woman was found in the bushes at ’t Wasven. She had been killed by a crime. A large-scale police team was deployed.

At the time, the suspect was staying in a mental health institution located at the Vrederust estate. He was admitted there for treatment during a suspension in an ongoing appeal procedure at the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. The man had filed an appeal against a ruling by the Amsterdam court in 2021. In that case, he was sentenced to TBS with compulsory treatment for the rape of a woman.

Police and prosecution quickly received the results of an urgent DNA test, which pointed to the suspect, whose DNA was already in the DNA database.

DNA traces on the body

Further investigation has shown, according to the Public Prosecution Service, that the 75-year-old woman from Halsteren was sexually abused and killed by strangulation and/or smothering. She thus became a victim of a criminal offense called qualified manslaughter, a manslaughter preceded and connected with a sexual offense in this case. The Public Prosecution Service is convinced that the 33-year-old suspect can be held responsible for this.

After his arrest (four days after the crime), the suspect was questioned several times about the womans death and gave varying statements. He claimed to have had a complete psychosis, heard voices, and had a blackout. At the hearing on December 17, the suspect admitted that there was no blackout and said he had memories of suffocating the woman.

Several experts from the Pieter Baan Center examined the suspect. The researchers describe the suspect as a person with schizophrenia. In the PBC report, drawn up by the experts, the suspect is declared partially accountable.

Having control over the victim

In the indictment, the officer explicitly mentioned the phenomenon of femicide, where it is almost always a man who exerts violence on a woman, purely from the idea that he has control over her. The officer: “This woman also became a victim of a sexual and life crime committed by a man. He believed he could control her for his own desires and did not take her feelings and rights into account. A woman must be able to take a walk in the woods without any danger of becoming a victim.” 

Given the seriousness of the facts and the personal circumstances of the suspect, the OM finds a very long prison sentence appropriate and necessary. In addition to the 20-year prison sentence and TBS measure with compulsory treatment, the OM also demands a behavioral influencing and freedom-restricting measure (GVM). This makes it possible to supervise the suspect after detention.

The court will give its verdict on January 26, 2026.