A 24-year-old man from Meppel is guilty of attempted murder of a housemate, according to the Public Prosecution Service. In the early morning of April 15, the man stabbed the other in the face with a knife, among other things. The man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison, of which ten months are suspended.
The day before, De Meppeler was wearing a tracksuit from his housemate without permission. They met by chance in Zwolle. The roommate saw that the other was wearing his suit and became furious. The men got into a fight. The quarrel continued at night in the house in Meppel. This culminated in an attack in the suspect’s room, where he grabbed a knife and stabbed him.
The stories of the two men differ. The suspect said he was in a blind panic and felt that he had to defend himself. The other said he was attacked out of nowhere. The 24-year-old Meppeler then ran away barefoot, but returned to take the victim’s phone. The injured man called 911 at the time. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this shows that there was no emergency situation and the man was also guilty of theft of the telephone.
De Meppeler’s lawyer found the storm to be proven and believes that the man should therefore not be punished. Counsel also asked the court to take into account the man’s clean criminal record.
The court will rule in two weeks.