Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Scales of justice and gavel on law book
Scales of justice and gavel on law book - Credit: Photo: tomloel/DepositPhotos
Crime
Héléne J.
Sharleyne Remouchamps
manslaughter
fatal fall
Hoogeveen
De Arend
Leeuwarden Court
appeal
prison
public prosecutor
Monday, 11 January 2021 - 13:50
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Mother gets prison for girl's fatal fall

The court of appeals in Leeuwarden on Monday convicted Helene J. of manslaughter in the death of her 8-year-old daughter Sharleyne in 2015. The woman was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison, ANP reports.

Sharleyne was found dead at the bottom of apartment building De Arend in Hoogeveen, where she lived on the 10th floor with her mother, on 8  June 2015. J. always claimed that she was woken by a draft and found that Sharleyne was not in her bed. She went onto the gallery to check if the girl was walking outside, and saw Sharleyne lying at the bottom of the building. She stuck to this version of events during the appeal trial. 

The Public Prosecutor did not believe this account and accused J. of strangling Sharleyne and throwing her off the apartment building. When this case was first tried in 2017 and 2018, J. was acquitted due to lack of evidence. But the appeal court considered it proven that J. is guilty of manslaughter.

The biggest reason for the conviction is a statement made by J.'s upstairs neighbor. In 2015, the man told the police that he had heard a commotion on the night of Sharleyne's death. The commotion was followed by a muffled bang and the sound of something being thrown over the railing. The man's statement was not included in the police file.

When the court heard about the neighbor's testimony in 2017, the judge found it possible that the man's story might have been influenced by the information that had come out in the two years since Sharleyne's death. During the appeal, however, a memory expert determined that the man's statement could be considered reliable. The appeals court accepted this conclusion. 

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Flying debris killed woman, 73, during Zierikzee tornado
  • Girl named in Amber Alert found safe, police say
  • Netherlands offers minesweepers to protect Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports
  • Police far more likely to bust up climate protests than farmer protests, lawyer claims
  • Historic Rotterdam bridge won't be dismantled for Jeff Bezos superyacht worth €430M
  • Many right-wing Dutch think abortion laws are too lenient; Over half support current rules

Top stories

  • Girl named in Amber Alert found safe, police say
  • Police far more likely to bust up climate protests than farmer protests, lawyer claims
  • MP's want to lower healthcare deductible, Cabinet wants to freeze it
  • Thousands of underage kids recruited into crime in Netherlands: Report
  • Police prevent farmers’ jail break attempt in Apeldoorn
  • Police release suspects held in Tefaf jewellery heist

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content