A 48-year-old man from Poland was sentenced to six years in prison and TBS with compulsory treatment for manslaughter at a recreation park in Erm. In August 2022 he killed a countryman with a brick.
In September 2023, the man received seven years in prison and TBS with compulsory treatment by the court in Assen. The man did not agree with the TBS measure and appealed against it. Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) again demanded seven years before the Court and the TBS measure by manslaughter.
The assistance arrived too late for the victim that Saturday morning in 2022. CPR was no longer allowed. The man lay next to a stack of bricks and there was such a stone next to his bloody head. Opposite the court in Assen and on appeal, the suspect shouted that he had to defend himself. The Court did not participate in this defense. The man has been able to withdraw from the situation several times by walking away.
The suspect and the victim lived in the park in Erm. They worked through an employment agency in the Netherlands. The suspect is struggling with schizophrenia. Alcohol intake worsens his situation. That night, too, the man had drunk a lot of alcohol and therefore lost his grip on reality. At the court, the man stated for the first time that he had indeed killed the other man.
The Court of Appeal is of the opinion that the manslaughter can be charged less than previously determined. His lawyer argued for fully unmandability, but the Court did not agree. After the attack, the suspect had enough awareness to call an ambulance and brush the traces of blood in the house. Given the amount of blood, which was still found, this must have been a considerable job, according to the Court.
The suspect has been convicted several times in his home country and treated clinically in psychiatric hospitals. He lacks disease insight, so that he does not adequately adhere to treatment agreements. The chance of recurrence is therefore too great. TBS with compulsory treatment is the only means that still left. The man has to pay the relatives a total of 85,000 euros.