A baby nearly one year old was sleeping while her parents were arguing in the living room. When the mother told him three times that she wanted to divorce after their daughters birthday, a 36-year-old Rotterdammer could not bear it. It went black before his eyes, and he strangled her. The Public Prosecution Service is demanding a prison sentence of 15 years and mandatory treatment for the suspect today.
On the night of Friday, July 5 to Saturday, July 6, the parents and sister of the victim were called by her partner. He asked them to come to the house as soon as possible because the baby was home alone. When they arrived at the house, they found their daughter and sister lifeless on the couch. They tried to resuscitate her, but to no avail. Not long after, the suspect was arrested in his car near Oldenzaal. According to the navigation, he was on his way to Copenhagen.
Investigation
Later, the autopsy report revealed that the victim died from strangulation. In court today, the focus is mainly on the possible motives of the suspect; what happened and why? The prosecutor describes his life as a man who pays little attention to rules and authority, who has unstable relationships, earns his money through crime, does not shy away from violence, and has built up a worrying criminal record of violent crimes, property crimes, and drug offenses over the years. Until he enters into a relationship with the victim in the summer of 2019. His life takes a turn, and at first, everything seems rosy: they move in together, he proposes to her, and in 2023 their daughter is born. But soon his personality and financial problems resurface.
Psyche
Psychological research suggests that there is an antisocial personality disorder with paranoid traits. Additionally, there is a disorder of cannabis and cocaine use and PTSD. According to experts, these issues likely played a role during the strangulation; he would have had limited ability to control his behavior during the strangulation due to his problems. An important note is that the suspect cannot remember certain events before and after the incident, making a complete analysis of the crime impossible.
Femicide
This case is about femicide: deadly violence against women within a relationship, says the prosecutor. That is exactly what happened here. The suspect felt he was losing control over his partner and decided to intervene himself, with fatal consequences. He could not get his life back on track. Not even that fateful evening when his wife informed him that she wanted a divorce, leading him to resort to ruthless violence. Because he felt insulted and could not cope with it.
Sentence Demand
The prosecutor reflects on the loss: a child who will grow up without a mother and relatives who will miss her. The Public Prosecution Service has reservations about the suspects openness and is therefore cautious with the experts advice to declare the suspect partially unaccountable. Due to the violent manner in which the woman was killed, the enormous impact on family and friends, the femicide aspect, and its impact on society as a social issue, the prosecutor finds a prison sentence of 15 years and mandatory treatment appropriate.
The judge will rule in 14 days.