Prosecutors recommend 22 years jail for man who killed two women before shooting at cop

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended 22 years in prison and mandatory treatment in a TBS psychiatric institution for Kenzo K. The 31-year-old from Almelo is on trial for fatally stabbing two women and two counts of attempted murder with a crossbow.

K. was previously convicted, and prosecutors recommended the same sentence as they did during the initial case. “The victims didn’t have a chance,” the prosecutor said Tuesday at the Arnhem Court of Appeals.

K. murdered his 70-year-old neighbor and her 52-year-old niece by stabbing them 12 and 20 times, respectively, on September 17, 2021, in Almelo. After this, he shot at a police officer and a nurse with a crossbow from his balcony.

The 33-year-old nurse was just barely able to escape via a balcony on the M. Th. Steynstraat in Almelo. She called emergency services while hanging off the railing. The nurse fell from the second floor and was on the ground, seriously wounded, when K. fired an arrow at her.

The court did convict K. for double homicide. The court felt that it was not premeditated as the suspect was not able to think about the consequences of his actions due to his psychosis.

The OM disagrees with that notion. “Somebody who is psychotic can also do planned work,” the prosecutor said. The OM thinks there is enough evidence for two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder on the nurse and officer.

The most important aspect of the case is whether K. was under the influence of delusions. The OM claims that K. was under the influence of LSD. The psychosis is partly his own fault due to his drug use, the Advocate General reasoned.

The OM also recommended 22 years in prison and mandatory treatment in a TBS psychiatric institution during the initial court case in Almelo. Although the court ruled he was guilty, it also said that he suffers from serious mental illness, sentencing him to serve indefinite mandatory treatment in a TBS psychiatric facility.

Behavior specialists of the Pieter Baan Centrum agreed with the sentencing, saying that the man had severe mental illnesses. The OM thinks that K. has light mental illnesses.