Crime

Accused politician murderer says he'd also kill sister again

By Janene Pieters on July 22, 2015 - 11:08

Bart van U., the man suspected of killing former Minister Els Borst, appeared in the Rotterdam court on Tuesday for a pro-forma hearing regarding the murder of his sister Lois van U. Van U. gave a statement in court, saying that under the same circumstances, he would kill his sister again.

Van U. previously stated that he killed his sister in self-defense. In court on Tuesday he described the bad relationship between him and Lois, the Telegraaf reports.

According to the newspaper, Van U.'s sometimes incoherent statement came down to that his sister was trying to ruin him and that his feeling that he had to protect himself ultimately led to him killing her. Van U.'s statement included vacuum cleaner hoses that Lois destroyed and grocery shopping she did that he would not wait for.

Van U.'s lawyer, Noëlle Pieterse, stated that Van U. feared that he would be lucked up in a clinic. Van U. stated that his sister "would have signed everything" to "get me committed, to make me commit suicide".

Strikingly, Van U. also stated that he and Lois had different views on euthanasia and abortions - medical ethics issues that Els Borst dealt with regularly during her time as Health Minister. On Tuesday Van U. made not statements on his suspected involvement in Borst's murder.

Tuesday's hearing only handled the murder of Lois van U., and not the murder of Borst. The two cases will be merged at the next hearing in September.

Van U. was admitted to the Pieter Baan Center for observation. His lawyer stated that the Center's report shows that Van U. is schizophrenic and therefore less accountable for his actions.

Lois van U. was stabbed to death in her home in Oudedijk, Rotterdam in January this year. Els Borst was found dead in the garage of her home in Bilthoven in February 2014. Bart van U. was only identified as a suspect in Borst's murder in January, after a sample of his DNA - taken after he was arrested for his sister's murder - matched trace evidence found in Borst's home.