The public prosecutor demanded TBS with compulsory treatment today against a 23-year-old man from Amsterdam who is suspected of having stabbed a 53-year-old neighbor in a stairwell in Amsterdam-Noord on July 5 last year.
On the morning of Friday, July 5, 2024, the police received a report of a stabbing incident in a stairwell of a house on the Hagenau in Amsterdam-Noord. The police found a severely injured woman. Shortly after the police and ambulance arrived on the scene, the woman died from her injuries.
Shortly thereafter, the police were able to arrest the suspect. Several neighbors, including the daughter of the victim, had witnessed the stabbing incident and the suspect was covered in blood. Investigations revealed that it was mainly the victims blood.
Jigsaw puzzle used as a weapon
Further police investigations have made it clear that the suspect had locked himself out that day, not for the first time, and sought help from the neighbors. He rang the bell at the later victims house and pushed her inside where he attacked her with a stick. After the woman managed to escape from her own home, she walked up the stairs in the stairwell. However, the suspect followed her and stabbed her in the stairwell to such an extent that she died from her injuries. A framed jigsaw puzzle that was hanging there had been pulled off the wall by the suspect and used as a weapon.
The suspect has been psychologically and psychiatrically examined, and an environmental investigation has also taken place. It has emerged that the mental state of the suspect played an important role in the stabbing incident. The public prosecutor in his indictment:
“There seems to have been no aggression towards others before July last year, but there has been a series of years in a young life where psychotic breakdowns have occurred, which seem to increase in severity. (-) The suspect is a seriously ill person who needs to be treated. But that can really only be done in a setting that offers maximum security to society. And that cannot be provided by a TBS with conditions.”
TBS with compulsory treatment
The public prosecutor considers manslaughter proven. Weighing everything, he demanded dismissal of prosecution and TBS with compulsory treatment. The public prosecutor acknowledged that with successful treatment, the TBS with compulsory treatment can come to an end. But in that situation, the transition back to society can take place with better guidance and maximum attention to the safety of society.
The court will rule on June 19.