Woman sentenced to 22 years in jail for murdering her father; gave speech at his funeral

The court in Breda sentenced a 22-year-old woman to 22 years in prison on Thursday for the murder of her father. She committed the crime with her boyfriend at the time, Jeroen L. Her father, 58-year-old Gradus Haisch, was lured to a deserted farm in Wowse Plantage in March 2023, where he was then stabbed six times with a large knife.

The daughter and L. (37) explained that they had lured the man there because they meant to confront him about their secret relationship. However, messages sent to each other on Snapchat were found in which they discussed ways to kill Haisch. The daughter claimed that she did this on impulse because she was angry with her father at the time. The court does not believe her argument.

There were several texts and images in the woman’s search history concerning the loss of her father. She had searched for these things while driving to the farm where he was killed. She was seen grieving and also gave a speech at Haisch’s funeral, with nobody at the time having any suspicion of what had taken place. The court told the woman that she had always betrayed her family.

The daughter went to the deserted farm in the car with her father on March 24. He thought that he had an appointment to buy an old iron there. “He was lured to the dark place under false pretenses. "You literally drove him to his violent death,” the president of the court said.

Both suspects claimed that the other had committed the murder. The daughter said that L. had stabbed her father. While L. claimed that Haisch was already dead when he had arrived at the farm.

L. had ordered a long knife under a false name shortly before the murder. In addition, the victim’s blood was found on clothes that had been hidden in an underground container by his house.

The exact motive for the murder is still unclear. It was determined during the hearing that the woman did not have a good relationship with her father. Her fellow prisoners stated that he was very strict. The woman allegedly told them that she had ordered L. to commit the murder.

According to the court, the two worked together closely during the crime. They cannot say with any certainty who performed the murder.

L. was sentenced to 20 years in prison in January. Prosecutors had recommended a 22-year sentence against him, as they did with the daughter. Their cases were treated at different times because the woman changed lawyers at a late stage.

The court decided to hand the daughter a longer sentence due to her behavior after her father's death.