Woman sentenced to 18 years for killing Ichelle van de Velde, chopping up body

The Zeeland-Wet-Brabant court sentenced 46-year-old Sandra H. to 18 years in prison for murdering 29-year-old Ichelle van der Velde and disposing of her body. The sentence is equal to what the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded.

“The defendant inflicted great, unimaginable loss and irreparable suffering on the relatives,” the court said. “The court finds the murder and the way in which Ichell’es body was treated very gruesome, disrespectful and degrading.”

The court considered it proven that H. strangled Ichelle to death with a premeditated plan in her spiritual shop in Oostburg on 15 December 2020. She hid the younger woman's body in the shop for weeks before cutting her up into several pieces and dumping her in a canal. The police arrested H. in February 2021.

During the trial, the OM revealed that H., her husband, and Ichelle had a short-lived triad relationship. Things turned sour when the husband fell in love with Ichelle.

In addition to the prison sentence, H. has to pay 200,000 euros in compensation to Ichelle’s family. The court also ordered her placed under supervision after her release.