The Public Prosecution Service (OM) now also suspects the two mothers of the abused children from Stadskanaal of attempted manslaughter. The prosecutor reported this in an email on Thursday short press releaseafter the two suspects were brought before the chamber of the Northern Netherlands court a day earlier.
The Public Prosecution Service accuses the women aged 31 and 34 of serious child abuse, including attempted manslaughter and unlawful deprivation of liberty. According to the public prosecutor, the criminal investigation has not yet been completed.
The court’s council chamber decided to extend the pre-trial detention of the two women on Wednesday, meaning they will remain in custody for an additional ninety days. However, strict restrictions have been lifted, meaning that suspects were only allowed to maintain contact with their lawyer in the past two weeks.
The police arrested the women, who are friends with each other, in early May, after the judge had shortly before deprived them of custody of the children. The victims are a 7-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. The girl was so seriously injured that she had to be kept in an artificial coma in a hospital.
In addition to the judicial investigation, the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate (IGJ) is also looking into the case. The regulator focuses, among other things, on the question of whether the healthcare agency involved, Veilig Thuis Groningen, responded adequately to the signals they received in February 2025.
The first preliminary hearing in the criminal case will take place in approximately three months.
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