Man gets 15 years for killing wife, disposing of her body

A 71-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his wife and getting rid of her body. The then 36-year-old woman disappeared from Siddeburen in 2010. While her body was never found, the court considered it proven that she was killed and that only her husband could have done it, NOS reports.

The husband was the last person to see the woman alive. He always claimed that she left their home in Siddeburen voluntarily. But according to friends and relatives, she was determined not to leave the home on the evening of her disappearance. She was planning to divorce her husband and was afraid that he would change the locks if she left. She also did not want to leave her 1-year-old son behind.

There were also all kinds of trace evidence indicating that the woman had been killed. Blood was found in the couple's bedroom as well as in the trunk of their car. Her hair was also found in a wheelbarrow and the man dumped a mattress along the highway shortly after her disappearance. "She did not leave the house alive", the judge said.

The court convicted the man of manslaughter, as it could not be proven that he had a premeditated plan to kill his wife. The Public Prosecutor demanded 12 years in prison against the man. But the court gave him the maximum sentence of 15 years, pointing out that the man took no responsibility for what he did. He also interfered with the police investigation by disposing of his wife's body.

The man has been living in Morocco since 2011, his wife's country of origin. He took their child with him. Due to passport problems, he could not come to the Netherlands for his trial, according to NOS. The court issued an international arrest warrant against the man, so that he can serve his sentence as soon as possible.