Youth detention demanded for stabbing Hoogkarspel fair: “He could have just died”

The stabbing was the low point of a funfair with several violent incidents. A day after the stabbing, for example, a massive fight between two groups threatened. Presumably young people from Hoogkarspel and Hoorn. The police intervened, but two officers got hit with it†

Mayor Michiel Pijl called the incidents ‘cowardly and unacceptable† And this edition of the fair, extra cameras and security will be deployed to prevent a recurrence.

Tense atmosphere

The story of one of the suspects, D. de R. (18) from Venhuizen, showed that the tension on the fairground on Saturday evening, September 25, was to be cut. “I saw my brother was there and feared he would get in trouble, so I went there quickly. There were quite a few groups. There was a tense atmosphere.”

He is part of a group of ten young people. As soon as De R. arrives at the fair, he is sent away. Then they see a boy cycling, the victim. “That’s ’em,” says one of the boys in the group. He is referring to the person who allegedly hit his brother. Later it turns out that they have the wrong one in front of them.

stabbed in the head

D. de R. goes after it together with the other suspect, VG (18) from Alkmaar. The victim is pulled from his bicycle. He still shouts: ‘You have the wrong one’, but then it is already too late.

The 15-year-old Hoogkar player is bleeding on the ground when the perpetrators take off on his bicycle. G. stabbed him in the head, De R. hit him several times. According to the prosecutor, it was pure luck that it ended well. “The knife went straight through the skull. A brain haemorrhage, concussion and bruises on the face. He could have died just like that.”

D. de R. eventually reports himself to the police a few days later. VG is arrested not much later.

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The case against VG was behind closed doors, because he was a minor at the time of the stabbing. The session of D. de R. was public. And he spoke extensively. “I regret what I did. I did punch you, but I didn’t know it was stabbed. But it shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

The victim attended the trial with his parents. The father read a victim statement. “It was an attempt to kill him, so much aggression. Is that normal in the eyes of the perpetrators? He could have been dead or disabled. I can’t bear to think about it. My son is scarred for life.”

The father also told about what happened next on social media. “The perpetrators were embraced there, by people who think the same,” he expresses his disgust about it. “I am aware that this is not their first act, nor will it be their last,” he concluded.

Juvenile detention and treatment

VG was eventually demanded a community service order of 200 hours, 100 of which were suspended. And in addition, a year of juvenile detention, of which 171 days conditional with a probation period of two years and special conditions. A sentence he has already served in custody.

D. de R. was examined by a psychologist. He has been diagnosed with borderline (mental disorder with strong mood swings) and that he suffers a lot from angry outbursts as a result. It was advised not to give him a prison sentence, but to treat him equally, because that would help him more.

The officer took that advice. De R. demanded 70 days of juvenile detention, of which 27 days were conditional. He has also been in custody long enough so that he can immediately start his treatment. On the condition that he continues to do daytime activities and does not contact the victim.

Something he also wants. “I have now moved outside of West Friesland. I am getting to know myself a lot better. I am not where I want to be yet, but things are going much better,” said De R. Finally, he said he hoped the victim would one day could forgive.

Family wants closure

The family said afterwards that it had been a difficult day, but that they were satisfied with the way the case was going. “We want to finally be able to close it,” said the father. The verdict is on Wednesday 25 May.