The announcement that 31-year-old nurse Theodoor V. from Veenhuizen may have had a hand in ‘twenty’ deaths in the Wilhelmina Hospital in Assen (WZA) naturally evokes many emotions.
The OM’s investigation focuses on the period from March 2020 to May 2022. Certainly for relatives of patients who died in that period in the department where the suspect worked, it must be a horrible thought that their loved ones may be victims from V..
In full swing
Although the investigation is in full swing, there are fears for how long they will remain in uncertainty and for the question of whether they will ever get a conclusive answer. The suspicion is based on statements from care providers of the GGZ Drenthe to whom the suspect allegedly told that he had ended the lives of about 20 patients during the corona pandemic.
It will be extremely difficult for the Public Prosecution Service to reduce the story of the GGZ employees to concrete suspicious deaths. The facts in question would have occurred at least a year and more ago.
Suspicious behavior
The fact that WZA employees apparently did not observe any suspicious behavior at the time makes it unlikely that they still have concrete memories that are incriminating for V. It is also unlikely that traces of criminal offenses can be found in medical files. It is also unclear whether the suspect is cooperating with the investigation. Legal psychologist Peter van Koppen, a recognized expert in assessing the burden of proof, said earlier that it will be difficult for the Public Prosecution Service to substantiate the suspicion against V.
Clarity
It goes without saying that it is important that there is clarity in this matter. The Public Prosecution Service thinks the criminal investigation will be completed by the end of June. If it turns out that V. was indeed able to commit so many criminal acts during such a long period, then this also raises the question of how he was given the opportunity to do so in the WZA. Then the hospital has some explaining to do.