On March 16, 2024, in Mierlo, a woman was stabbed in broad daylight in front of her children. She died on the spot. The children were also injured while trying to intervene. The womans partner and father of the children, a 51-year-old man from Mierlo, was quickly identified as responsible for the crime. Today he had to answer to the court. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands a 15-year prison sentence against him.
‘I called ‘mom’. I placed my hand under her head, then she looked up and I closed her eyes. I then said a spell, for when someone goes to heaven.’ This is how the public prosecutor begins his indictment. It is a description by the 12-year-old son who experienced the last moments of his mothers life.
Confession
The police immediately started an investigation. Near the house, they found the man in an alley. His hands and clothes were bloodied and a knife was found, which was later confirmed to be the weapon that killed the woman. The suspect gave a confession about this and witnesses, including the 12-year-old son and an older daughter of the man, confirmed this. The childrens knife wounds also match the statements.
Self-defense or not?
However, the Public Prosecution Service does not agree with the suspects motive as stated in his defense. The suspect gives inconsistent statements, claiming he stabbed in response to violence by the victim. This is not supported by the 12-year-old sons statement and other evidence. Witness statements from emergency workers also show that the relationship between the man and woman was troubled. The woman wanted a divorce, which was also the cause of the fatal argument on March 16.
Control urge
The public prosecutor: ‘The suspect stabbed his wife multiple times, notably in front of their young children. All out of a need for control, because he could not accept that the victim wanted a divorce. She then walked to her death on the street. An image I hope will fade for the children. They face their future without mother, without father.’
The Public Prosecution Service accuses the suspect of manslaughter. The partner violence used cost the woman her life. Considering the seriousness of the act and all circumstances, the OM demands a 15-year prison sentence. The judge will give a verdict in two weeks.
