Victim in psychiatrist murder case may have died of MDMA overdose

Bretly D., a 25-year-old, is accused of murdering Jean van Griensven, a psychiatrist from Rotterdam, but a new toxicology report shows that the man likely died of an MDMA overdose. This became clear on Friday during a new preparatory hearing in the criminal case. D. was again not present in court in Rotterdam.

Van Griensven (60) was found heavily wounded by the fire brigade on October 13 while they were putting out a fire in his home on the Handelsplein in Rotterdam. The victim had been shot in the forehead from close range and died at the scene. The question being asked now is whether the shot wound was the reason for his death.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has said that it would like to ask the specialists of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) additional questions about the results of its investigation.

According to the OM, D. murdered Van Griensven and then burnt his house down after they had a sex date. The Rotterdammer is also accused of severe assault on a man in Zutphen, who he allegedly stabbed in the leg and tried to strangle. This allegedly happened during the overnight hours of 20 to October 21.

The police worked hard to find D., releasing recognizable photos and publishing his full name. Four days later, D. was arrested at a hotel in the city center of Amsterdam.

He has denied all involvement in the crime and has not made any further comments. D. 's lawyer repeated on Friday that the victim regularly had sex dates where drugs were used and stated that it, therefore, cannot be confirmed that his client had anything to do with the psychiatrist's death.

D. has been observed at the Pieter Baan Centre, a psychiatric observation clinic, for the last few months. The results of the behavioral observation are expected in 1.5 to 2 months.

It is not yet clear when the substantive case will be heard.