“That the victim is still alive was not in the hands of these suspects, but is rather a matter of luck,” said the public prosecutor. A 38-year-old woman from Kerkdriel and a 37-year-old man appeared today before the judge in Zutphen. They are suspected of (co-perpetrating) an attempted murder on the (ex-)husband of the woman. “In doing so, they have committed almost the most serious offense in our Penal Code. This weighs heavily in determining the sentence demand. An unconditional prison sentence is the only appropriate measure.” Both suspects heard a demand of 10 years in prison against them.
In the early morning of January 13, 2025, the victim left the house to go to work. Before he could get into his van, he was stabbed by someone who came up from behind him with a large kitchen knife. The knife point was at the level of the heart and lung tissue was damaged. The Public Prosecution Service deems conditional intent to kill the victim proven. The prosecutor: “The stabbing must have been done with considerable force, to get so close to the heart with such a large knife. The significant chance of death, in my opinion, needs no further explanation.”
Both suspects deny their involvement in the stabbing incident. However, the file contains many indications pointing towards the suspects. Logical explanations have not been provided by the suspects when confronted with these incriminating facts. The prosecutor: “They provide incredible, unlikely, and sometimes demonstrably false, deceitful statements.” It has been established that CCTV footage shows the perpetrator wearing a coat and pants with certain characteristics matching clothing that the suspect had previously worn. Furthermore, DNA traces from the son of the male suspect were found on a car that the perpetrator touched, while it was known that they shared their jackets. A similar knife, of the same brand as the one used in the stabbing, was found at the suspects home. The female suspect demonstrably lied about certain phone contacts with the male suspect. It also turned out that the day before the stabbing incident, she visited the login site of a funeral insurance without credible reason. The prosecutor listed a series of such facts during the hearing. The two suspects had a secret affair with each other. The 38-year-old woman had previously stated that she wanted to get rid of her husband because he was verbally and physically aggressive.
“The suspects have caused great suffering to the victim but also to his children, who will carry this story with them for the rest of their lives. Their safe haven has thus been destroyed. Additionally, it is further complicated by the fact that the suspects firmly deny it, making the processing of this situation even more difficult. I consider ten years in prison appropriate given the judgments in similar cases for the serious offense committed by the suspects. I also see no reason to make a distinction for the suspects.”
