“You were murdered in cold blood. And the worst thing is, they are trying to wipe their own shirt clean. Your shirt will never be clean again, Arek. It will always remain soaked in Marit’s blood,” said the mother of the slain youth care worker Marit from Groningen during her right to speak before the court in Assen.
In front of her is 20-year-old Arek K. from Emmen. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) accuses him of kicking Marit hard in the head in the youth care institution Yorneo in Emmen last January after she had been stabbed. This may have contributed to her death.
“Arek, during the interrogations you said ‘if I had known everything in advance, I would not have gone along’. But you went along. You did not drop out. I will never forgive you for the murder of Marit and all the suffering you have caused. No mercy.”
The twenty-something bursts into uncontrollable crying. With his hands in front of his face, he puts his head on the table. Through his loud sobs, the mother explains what kind of child Marit was. “Marit was social, open, down-to-earth and also a stubborn child. She was loyal and a fighter. Good at observing and analyzing other people.”
“Every now and then she was a drama queen. That always made me laugh. You couldn’t stand injustice. You loved your life, together with your friends. You worked with heart and soul in youth care. And you had a heart for animals. Together with your brother you ensured that the hedgehogs in the garden survived the winter well.”
K. presses tissues to his eyes and sobs. “You had a passion for music. You always sang along. The radio was on at home all day,” says Marit’s mother. “But now you are no longer there. The radio is off. It is quiet in the house. Justice must come for Marit. She no longer has a voice.”
K. cannot respond to this yet, he says. He’s too emotional for this. K. leaves the courtroom bent over and crying loudly.