Amsterdam Court of Appeal raises sentence to 12 years in killing of Ukrainian sex worker
On Thursday, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal increased the prison sentence to 12 years and imposed compulsory psychiatric treatment (TBS) on a 38-year-old man convicted of killing a 34-year-old Ukrainian sex worker and dismembering her body in IJmuiden in Noord-Holland after a paid sexual encounter in 2022. The ruling was issued on appeal and replaces a 2024 district court decision that had imposed 10 years in prison plus compulsory treatment.
The appellate court also ordered TBS with forced hospitalization. Both the prosecution and the defense had appealed the earlier verdict. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had demanded 15 years in prison and TBS.
The victim met the man in August 2022 for a paid sex appointment at his home in IJmuiden. She was reported missing three days later. Police later found her body in parts in the suspect’s attic.
The man denied murder, stating the woman voluntarily agreed to be tied up during consensual sex on a fitness bench in his attic and that she died accidentally from suffocation during sexual activity.
The prosecution rejected that account. In earlier proceedings, prosecutors said: “The suspect tied her up against her will, raped her, killed her intentionally, and then chopped her up into pieces.” They also said the victim suffered extensive violence before her death, including bruising, skin damage, and a broken rib.
Prosecutors further described the case as “downright gruesome and bizarre.” They further stated, "He crossed every possible boundary."
At appeal, the court found that, although the exact sequence of events in the home remains unclear, the defendant violently assaulted the woman and killed her by strangulation, rejecting the claim of accidental death.
Judges said the man then left the body in his attic for days before dismembering it in a gruesome manner. The court cited his lack of remorse and what it described as an indifferent attitude toward human life as aggravating factors.
He was acquitted of rape and unlawful deprivation of liberty but convicted of manslaughter and desecration of a corpse. Psychiatric assessments, including findings from the Pieter Baan Center, identified a personality disorder marked in part by a lack of empathy. The man was also reported to have consumed large amounts of alcohol and frequently viewed violent pornography. Experts warned there was a high risk of reoffending without intensive treatment.
During earlier hearings, forensic experts disagreed on the cause of death. An NFI pathologist concluded strangulation was most likely, while a defense expert said an accidental death could not be ruled out.
