A 36-year-old man convicted of stabbing his girlfriend’s ex-partner to death has been dismissed on appeal. The court previously sentenced him to eight years in prison, but the court finds that there is a case of emergency.
The man went to her ex’s apartment in Eindhoven with his girlfriend last April. He said he wanted to talk to the man. However, the ex was waiting for the man with a gun and pepper spray.
On the gallery of the victim’s porch, a struggle broke out between the two men, with the victim still holding the gun. The other took a knife from his jacket pocket and stabbed the victim in the heart. He died on the spot. The gun later turned out to be fake, reports Broadcasting Brabant.
‘Flights not an option’
The court previously judged that the man sought the confrontation and had deliberately chosen to walk towards the victim as he drew his weapon. The court disagrees: “It was the victim who approached the suspect armed and not the other way around”.
The court further stated that there was an emergency. “After all, the victim pulled a gun and had a can of pepper spray in his hand.” According to the court, fleeing was not an option because the victim approached the man with a drawn weapon. “The only way he said he could defend himself was by pulling the knife,” the court wrote.
The court notes that the entire incident took place in a short period of time and the man had little time to think.
Not continued
Now that the court rules that there is a case of emergency, the man will be released from all legal proceedings. This means that the court does charge him for the stabbing, but does not impose a penalty for it. This also lapses the almost 70,000 euros in compensation that the relatives had demanded.
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