Diemen man found guilty of forced abortion that killed Brazilian woman, unborn child

The District Court in Amsterdam convicted 52-year-old Dennis van E. on Monday, saying he forced his girlfriend to have an unsafe home abortion in October 2019. The incident killed Brazilian woman Patricia Oliveira dos Santos and her unborn son who was deemed viable as she was 32 to 37 weeks pregnant at the time. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and mandatory treatment in a TBS psychiatric facility, which was identical to the prosecutor's recommendation.

The court convicted the Diemen man of assault with a fatal outcome in the 32-year-old woman's death, and murder in the case of the unborn child. "Cruel, unscrupulous and perverse," the court said of the suspect's actions.

Van E. coercively and threateningly urged the woman to have an abortion because he did not want a boy. This was evident from a long series of messages he sent the woman, prosecutors said. "Your plan was clear, the fetus had to die," the court said.

The victim took a quantity of abortion pills ordered by Van E. on the internet, in addition to cocaine, MDMA and alcohol. Van E. failed to seek medical help after the woman's uterus ruptured, the court found. The woman bled to death in the suspect's Diemen home and the fetus also died.

The court does not believe that the deadly drama took place while he was sleeping, as the suspect claimed. Van E. reported to the police a day after the death of the woman and her baby. Shortly afterwards he became a suspect in the investigation.

Van E. held the woman in a coercive, manipulative grip, took full advantage of her vulnerable situation and she was completely "at the mercy of his whims". He demanded complete submission and made "excessive sexual demands," the court ruled.

The suspect and victim met each other in the Brazilian coastal town of Fortaleza. Van E. regularly stayed there for holidays, where the victim was a sex worker. The woman has two surviving children in Brazil and she lived in poverty.

Van E. only willingly participated in a psychological analysis to a limited extent. The court nevertheless believes that he has "a personality disorder with narcissistic traits."

The risk of recurrence is high because Van E. continues to place responsibility on the victim and does not show any awareness about the controversial actions, the court said. That was its rationale for ordering a mandatory TBS measure.