Man from Geldrop gets ten years in prison for brutal murder of psychologist

The man was 20 when the woman was found dead in her home. The court in Groningen previously sentenced him to ten years in prison. But A. appealed, because he says he is innocent.

The judges (those are the judges in an appeal) found it proven on Tuesday that he is guilty of the murder of Els Slurink, reports RTV Noord. DNA of the suspect was found under the nail of the woman, which the judges found to be decisive evidence. A neighbor also stated that she heard screaming and a bang coming from Els’ house, which the court finds supports the DNA match.

For years it remained unclear what had happened to the psychologist. There was little evidence. There were scenarios. As a psychologist, the woman also had to deal with children who may have been abused. Her work could have something to do with the murder. Or maybe she had hit a burglar in her house?

But in 2021, the DNA discovery under Els’ nail led to a match in the database due to previous convictions of A. The police started another campaign at that time in the hope of getting additional information, but already had A. in their sights. In February 2021 they arrested him in Geldrop.

Els’ family still lives every day with the suffering that Slurink was inflicted. “The murder of my sister is a deep wound that cannot heal well. We as a family have not recovered from what happened,” one of her brothers told RTV Noord.

According to RTV Noord, the handling of the criminal case did not go very smoothly six weeks ago. A. barely gave any answers, answered evasively or entered into a discussion. He said he found it difficult to answer questions about 26 years ago. “As I’ve said ten times before: I don’t remember,” said A.

The man sees himself as someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but his file suggests otherwise. He has previously been convicted of violence, burglary, a cannabis case and extortion. According to acquaintances, he would also always walk with a knife in his pocket.

A. himself says that the file is incorrect. They wanted to examine him in the Pieter Baan Center, but he did not cooperate. A disorder has therefore not been determined. He would have been in a youth care institution in his youth, why remains unclear.

The man from Geldrop has now been convicted for the murder of Els for the second time. He can also challenge this conviction at the Supreme Court, in which case it will only be checked whether everything has been done according to the rules. It is not yet clear whether A. will do so, he and his lawyer were not present at the verdict on Tuesday.

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