The Public Prosecution Service demands a prison sentence of 7 years against a 21-year-old suspect from Maastricht for attempted manslaughter of his ex-partners father. After years of incidents, harassment, reports to the police, and various cease conversations, all emotions lead to a climax: a stabbing incident where the cause of the conflict, according to the complainants, lies in a breakup, said the public prosecutor today in court in Maastricht.
In the parking lot of a supermarket in Maastricht, amid a large number of shopping people, a stabbing incident occurs on July 30 last year around 6:00 PM. The victim is taken to the hospital and has to undergo surgery. There are camera recordings of the incident and multiple witnesses see it happen. The suspect is arrested shortly thereafter.
The incident on July 30 was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back and the tip of the iceberg, the Public Prosecution Service states today during the substantive hearing of the case. In 2022, the suspect is informed that his girlfriend definitively ends the relationship. In the report she ultimately makes, it is noted how from that moment the problems begin; she is harassed almost daily and often receives anonymous calls. In recent years, five cease conversations have been held with the suspect, but that does not result in him stopping his campaign of terror.
In addition to the stabbing, the man from Maastricht had to account today for more incidents: the stalking of his ex-girlfriend and two family members, but also multiple vandalism (a brick through a window, vandalism of a car) and an assault on a family member of his ex-partner, all committed leading up to the attempted manslaughter. The imposed contact ban is ignored by the suspect, and a behavioral directive and suspensive conditions were also violated.
With hindsight, it only became clear how long this conflict had been going on and what had all preceded it, said the public prosecutor today during the justification of the penalty demand. Not everything attributed to the suspect in the file and that can be regarded as a criminal offense at first glance has been included in the summons. Nevertheless, the suspect is accused today of 9 criminal offenses.
The suspect deliberately seeks out his victim that day, follows him, provokes him, resulting in a confrontation in the supermarket. During the struggle that ensues, the suspect has a knife on him and stabs his victim. The Public Prosecution Service believes that the suspect has tormented the victim and his family for such a long time and intensely that the limit of the familys endurance had been reached. It was only a matter of time, and that such a confrontation did not occur earlier can be seen as a particularity.