Zairo was a boy of fourteen and handicapped. A care provider put him in a too hot bath at home in Steenbergen. He burned his skin terribly and died. The health care provider has been charged with wrongful death and a trial is imminent. Only the court has a problem: they would like to speak to the man, but he is unreachable.
This was revealed on Thursday at an interim trial about the case. The seat of the suspect (62) remained empty, his lawyer was there. Lawyer Moritz Schönfeld explained that he last had contact with the suspect in March last year. And also fleeting.
Traceless
The suspected healthcare provider was born in Hulst in Zeeland and lives in Bergen op Zoom. But he doesn’t give home. Letters and telephone calls remain unanswered, and the written request to attend this interim session also returned unopened.
“I get the feeling that he does not want to appear at the hearing,” said the public prosecutor who would like to have him in the dock, in other words in the room. Because it’s quite a bit, if you look at the indictment.
Burns
The accident in the bath happened on March 10, 2020. Zairo was bathed by the healthcare provider at home in Steenbergen. His foster mother and foster sister were gone. What exactly happened then has not yet been discussed at the hearing, but according to the public prosecutor, the care provider then made major mistakes.
“He had set the thermostat too high, did not check the temperature and did not respond promptly by immediately calling 911.” His foster mother and foster family provided first aid and Zairo ended up in hospital with severe burns. He died two days later, aged 14 old.
Mother and sister
An extensive investigation was started, with external experts. Among them also a trauma surgeon from the Maasstad Hospital in Rotterdam. In March 2022 there was an interim session behind closed doors. And Thursday one, for the first time in public. Also in the room were Petra, Zairo’s foster mother and her daughter. Zairo was with them for almost 14 years, almost all of his life, which had a rough start and a tough end.
Mother and sister were assisted by a lawyer and victim support. The biological mother is also involved, but at a distance.
Lawyer
The lawyer of the suspect is also not sure how to proceed. He even doubted for a moment whether he was allowed to represent the suspect at this hearing. “There is no contact with my client,” Schönfeld sighed.
“I can say that there are no research wishes, but yes. I cannot give you a sensible answer. If I speak to him and he says this and that, then I will at least have to do something with it.”
To retrieve
The court decided on Thursday that the suspect must appear in court. Both the Public Prosecution Service and the court want to ask him questions and have him respond to the charges. “Because these are serious allegations against him.” Therefore, the court has decided to meet again in a few weeks. The suspect must then be tracked down and picked up by the police and taken to court. “We hope to have Mr. Dan here,” the court chairman concluded.
The trial itself is scheduled for early January.