Parents suspected of severely abusing newborn twins in 2019

The parents of twin newborn babies are suspected of severely abusing their children in 2019. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes the girls were shaken, pinched, and beaten against surfaces. The man and woman from Vleuten are also suspected of being repeatedly careless in how they transported the children “at high speed” in a bicycle trailer, the OM said on Monday during a status hearing at the Utrecht district court.

The girls, who were born in January 2019, were found with bruises and broken bones. The assaults allegedly took place over several months of that year.

The father, 50-year-old Jeremy K., is also suspected of attempted murder of one of the girls. The OM accused him of stuffing a baby wipe into one of the girl’s mouths on March 10, 2019, which caused a brain injury.

The mother, 36-year-old Nicky van den B., defended herself against the OM’s allegations. “We have two girls at home who wake up singing and hopping around the living room. They are perfectly healthy,” she told the court. The children are now in primary school.

Van den B. and K., who are not in pre-trial detention, outlined on Monday that their statements to authorities have been taken out of context. For example, they said during questioning that the babies, who were premature and weighed about 2 kilos, were held tightly in the shower. “We didn’t want them to fall on the floor. It wasn’t ‘squeezing,’ but lovingly clutched against us,” was how the situation should have been explained.

During the trial, which is scheduled for May 22, experts must clarify how the girls’ injuries could have been caused and whether the injuries could have been caused by accident. Monday’s hearing was meant to further clear up questions and issues that need to be cleared up before the trial begins.