Psychiatric evaluation extended for suspect in Lisa's murder; Trial to start in January
Chris Jude, the man suspected of murdering 17-year-old Lisa from Abcoude as she cycled home from Amsterdam in August 2025, will spend longer in the Pieter Baan Center for psychiatric evaluation. His observation period was extended from the typical 7 weeks to 14 weeks during a preliminary hearing on Thursday, according to Telegraaf reporter Saskia Belleman, posting live from the courtroom.
The suspect is known as Chris Jude, likely from Nigeria, but his identity has not yet been confirmed. He is charged with the murder murder of Lisa, the rape of a woman, and the attempted rape of another woman. All three attacks happened in the Amsterdam area within a few days of one another. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is in the final stages of its investigation and expects to have the final case file ready by mid-May.
The substantive trial against the man will happen in January. The court needs multiple, somewhat consecutive days for the trial, and the schedule for this year is already too full. The trial is scheduled for January 18, 20, and 22.
Lisa was fatally stabbed in Duivendrecht on August 20 while cycling home from a night out in Amsterdam city center to her home in Abcoude. The suspect stabbed the 17-year-old multiple times in the early morning hours. He also raped a woman on August 15 and attempted to rape another woman on August 10 along the Weesperzijde in Amsterdam, near where Lisa was attacked. He has confessed to all three attacks.
In the hearing on Thursday, Chris Jude did not object to spending longer under psychiatric observation. He previously said that he heard voices and suffered from memory loss, though he later withdrew the latter statement. The man will remain in custody. The next preliminary hearing against him is scheduled for June 24.
Emile van Reydt, one of the lawyers representing Chris Jude, raised the issue of 1,700 police officers accessing the case file around Lisa’s murder early in the investigation. His client has the same right as every suspect ot have his personal privacy respected and his personal data protected, the lawyer said.
Van Reydt asked for insight into the police investigation into whether any data was leaked, saying that the unauthorized consultation of information from the investigation and the inadequate protection of confidential information could impact his client’s sentencing.
The OM said it considers this an “employer matter” for the police and has no involvement in or responsibility for the internal investigation. The prosecutor also said that the matter of police officers accessing the file “has no connection whatsoever to the criminal investigation.”
