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Broadcasting West
NOS News•
A 25-year-old man from Noordwijk has been sentenced to six years in prison and TBS with compulsory treatment for stabbing his girlfriend to death. According to the court, the suspect has caused “irreparable suffering”.
The 35-year-old Polish woman was stabbed to death in her home in Noordwijk in December 2020. The suspect fled to France after the murder, but was arrested there a few days later.
During the substantive hearing of the case, two weeks ago, known person Serge H. that he had killed his girlfriend. He had argued with her about their newborn daughter. The girl was removed from home because youth protection was concerned about H.’s violent character, writes Broadcasting West.
Stops hit
The suspect contested that and wanted to talk to his partner about the lawsuit that would be about this. Because his girlfriend didn’t feel like it, H. said the fuses went through.
First, he stabbed the woman with a knife while she was lying on the bed. He then made her walk to the bathroom and make her lie down in the bathtub. Then he picked up another knife and stabbed her again. He then fled and was therefore later arrested in France.
No premeditation
The Public Prosecution Service wanted H. to be convicted of murder, especially since grabbing a second knife indicated a well-considered plan to kill the woman.
But the court does not agree and finds that there is too little evidence for premeditation. “According to the suspect, he is ‘crazy’ and has not thought about the consequences of what he did. The court has insufficient indications that this was different,” said the judge. H. was therefore convicted of manslaughter.
Reduced accountability
Researchers from the Pieter Baan Center have examined the suspect and conclude that he suffers from schizophrenia. He had been psychotic for years, they think.
According to the experts, the suspect’s responsibility is greatly reduced, there is a risk of recurrence and he must be treated. The court has taken the investigators’ advice into account and has therefore imposed a TBS with compulsory treatment on H.. “It is not responsible to let him return to society untreated.”
No restraining order
The court blames the man for not getting help for his girlfriend after his act, but has fled. “He has violently and horribly taken the life of a young woman of 35, the mother of his child. He has caused pain and sorrow to the family and the girl has lost her mother forever.”
The OM thought that H. should also get a restraining order against his child until the girl is eighteen, but the court does not think that is necessary. “Because he is detained, contact will be very limited and only under supervision. The daughter’s guardian can arrange that and determine whether it is in the best interest of the child,” the ruling reads. Finally, the suspect must pay the woman’s family a total of approximately 43,000 euros in compensation.
