Man gets prison for stabbing pickpocket in Amsterdam, leaving her in pool of blood

The court in Amsterdam sentenced a 22-year-old man to four years in prison, 16 months of which are conditionally suspended, for stabbing a pickpocket multiple times in Amsterdam and leaving her wounded and helpless in a spreading pool of blood in September last year. The man had the right to defend himself, but his “very violent explosion of violence” went beyond that right, the court ruled. The court also convicted him of stabbing another man a few days earlier.

The incident happened on Warmoesstraat on September 7, 2023. Emergency services responded to the scene at around 3:00 a.m. that morning and found the victim lying on the street in a pool of blood. She had multiple stab wounds in her chest and leg.

During the trial, it became clear that the victim had pickpocketed the man, after which he attacked her with the knife. The woman spent five days in the hospital, including one day in intensive care, with multiple stab wounds, a collapsed lung, and two broken ribs.

The man’s lawyer argued that he panicked when the woman tried to steal from his bag, which contained his passport, wallet, and other important items. It was self-defense, the lawyer said, asking for his client to be acquitted.

The judge acknowledged that the man had the right to defend himself against the theft, but he went “too far.” The court convicted the man of attempted manslaughter. With his “very violent explosion of violence,” he took the risk of killing the woman, the judge said. He also left her helpless on the street with severe injuries.

The court also convicted the 22-year-old man of aggravated assault for an incident a few days earlier in which he stabbed a man in the hand.

The judge said that both victims still feel unsafe on the street. The judge also pointed out that the suspect walks the streets with a knife in his possession and “does not hesitate to use it.” The court sentenced him to four years in prison, 16 months of which are conditionally suspended. The sentence is lower than the prosecutor demanded, given the suspect’s young age, among other things.