Father gets 12 years for 10 y.o. son's death

Marcel S. was sentenced to 12 years in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment for the death of his 10-year-old son Diego. The court in Rotterdam considered it proven that the 39-year-old man strangled his son to death in anger after his wife left him and convicted him of manslaughter, ANP reports.

Diego was found killed in his father's home in Dordrecht on March 1st last year. His body was found in his parent's bed. Marcel S. claims he fell asleep on the couch the previous night and woke up to find his son dead. The boy had been strangled to death. A strong sedative was found in Diego's blood. S. denies that he administered it to the boy, even though he searched for the dose of the drug a few days before his son's death.

The court did not believe this story. The only DNA found on Diego's neck was his own and his father's. The court called the strangulation "cruel and incomprehensible", according to the news wire. "The fact that the father, in a location that Diego trusted, put an end to the young life of his son is hard to comprehend", the court said. The court counted against S. that he never accepted accountability. According to the court, S. is "dangerous" and the chance of repetition is high.

The Public Prosecutor demanded 18 years in prison for murder against S. But the court ruled that the sedative in the boy's system was not enough to prove a premeditated plan.