Client suspected of violently murdering Ukrainian sex worker faces 15 years in prison

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) called for the District Court of Amsterdam to convict 36-year-old Sander K. in the death of Arina Sasina. The 34-year-old sex worker died by strangulation in the man's IJmuiden home on August 18, 2022. Prosecutors alleged that the Ukrainian woman was murdered, and that K. then chopped up her body into ten pieces. They urged that the court sentence the man to 15 years in prison, and mandatory treatment at a TBS psychiatric institution.

K. has always maintained that the incident was an accident. He said that he had tied the victim to a fitness bench in his attic with the her permission. In addition to her hands and legs, her neck was also tied to the bench. The woman had struggled to breathe during the sexual acts that followed, and died as a result, he stated.

The OM came to the opposite conclusion. "The suspect tied her up against her will, raped her, killed her intentionally, and then chopped her up into pieces." K. was also excessively violent towards Sasina before her death, the prosecutor added. "She was covered in bruises and skin damage, and also one of her ribs was broken."

What happened next led prosecutors to call the case "downright gruesome and bizarre." They argued, "He crossed every line that he could cross."

K. came into the picture as a suspect two days after Sasina, from Ukraine, was reported missing on August 21, 2022. Officers found a tub containing the victim's torso when searching the suspect's home on IJselsstraat. Her remaining body parts were found packed up in garbage bags inside another container.

The suspect explained that he chopped off Sasina's ten fingertips and flushed them down the shower drain because he was afraid that police would find his DNA under the fingernails of the victim.

He would not cooperate with any personality studies, meaning that psychiatric experts tasked with assessing his mental state could not reach a clear judgment. The OM maintained that there are enough clues to confirm that he has a personality disorder, which is shown in his chronic use of alcohol and sexual preferences.

An investigation showed that he had "a lot of interest in horrible, sexually violent behavior," the prosecutor added. "K. turned his fantasies into reality. It is irresponsible to let him back into society untreated."

Should the court decide against a TBS measure, then K. should spend 20 years in prison, prosecutors recommended. The court's decision will be announced on July 15.