Suspect Sacha C. first stabbed father ‘master Fa’ to death and then GP Bert, manhunt extended | Abroad

The police have distributed a description of him, which states, among other things, that Sacha C. has dark blond hair and wears a gray T-shirt that is said to have blood stains. The man, son of a Dutch mother and a Chinese-Dutch father, is psychologically confused and therefore dangerous, the Italian police said.

It’s why the police a true manhunt started, which has been going on since Wednesday evening. On Thursday evening, the authorities announced that they would expand the search area to the entire Piedmont region, the Italian news agency Ansa reports. About a hundred men are looking for him there, including sniffer dogs. Furthermore, it is viewed from the air. The search may continue tonight.

Slowly more is known about Sacha C. His mental problems may explain Wednesday’s drama, in which he fatally stabbed both his father and family friend Bert ter Horst.

Because the question is how it came to this with the young Amsterdammer. The many family photos on social media show a carefree childhood in a loving, highly educated family from the capital. Father Chain-Fa is a teacher, mother Marijke studied French. Together they have two sons, of whom Sacha is the youngest.

Both boys are raised sporty and musically. For example, Sacha played the saxophone as a child and played football at club TOS Actief in East Amsterdam, a stone’s throw from the Jaap Eden ice rink. At that club, father Chain-Fa was active as a youth trainer five times a week. He recently started working at primary school De Leertuin, which opened last year in the new Schinkelkwartier district of Amsterdam. Chain-Fa also worked at the ecumenical primary school Elout.

On the newcomer group, he is known as ‘Master Fa’. ‘Helping children to develop: that’s what makes my profession great!’ he says on the school’s website. ‘A pleasant, safe environment is a prerequisite for this. Together we take care of that at De Leertuin.’

Sacha’s older brother seems to be doing well – he studied at the University of Wageningen – C.’s own situation is mysterious. Since 2020 he calls himself ‘self-employed/owner’ on LinkedIn. He also had a part-time job as a delivery boy at New York Pizza.

It is clear that Sacha traveled to Italy with his father Chain-Fa last week. There both went to stay with the 60-year-old Lambertus (Bert) ter Horst in Montaldo di Montovì. That is a tiny hamlet a few tens of kilometers below Turin. The Harderwijk GP, good friends with C. senior, had owned a house for several years, where he could often be found and which he had refurbished himself.

On Wednesday afternoon, father Chain-Fa and Ter Horst got into a fight. Son Sacha then grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his father, according to a first police reconstruction. Ter Horst tried to intervene, but was also stabbed. Chain-Fa died on the spot, GP Ter Horst did not. He managed to walk out with serious injuries, after which the neighbors raised the alarm. An ambulance and helicopter rushed to the scene. Ter Horst eventually died on the way to the hospital in Turin.

Not only in the Netherlands, but also in Montaldo di Montovì, the shock is great. “This is an incredible tragedy that leaves us all speechless,” Mayor Giovanni Balbo told local media. “We are appalled, no one could have ever imagined something like this.”

General practitioner Ter Horst is a welcome guest in the village of only 600 people. According to residents, he often visited, alone or with his family. He now spoke a word of Italian and was able to make himself understood.