Rotterdam medical student who killed 3 is mentally ill and not culpable, lawyer argues

Fouad L., known as the “Erasmus shooter,” does not belong in prison but should receive treatment, according to his lawyer, Theo Hiddema. The court in Rotterdam sentenced L. to life in prison in February. According to Hiddema, the court “artificially reasoned” its way to that sentence in its ruling. The lawyer said this on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal in The Hague, where the first preliminary hearing of L.'s case on appeal took place.

L. (34) is appealing the court verdict because he disagrees with the punishment. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) also filed an appeal. The OM had recommended a prison sentence of 30 years and mandatory psychiatric treatment at a tbs facility. Hiddema is L.’s new lawyer.

The suspect, who was a medical student at the time, shot his 14-year-old neighbor Romy, her 39-year-old mother Marlous, and 43-year-old medical professor Jurgen Damen in Rotterdam on September 28, 2023.

The murders were allegedly done out of vengeance because L. was not given a medical diploma. The suspect also started a fire in his home on the same day. At Erasmus MC, where he shot Damen dead in a crowded lecture hall, he set fires using Molotov cocktails. The police arrested him on the hospital grounds. The events caused widespread shock and outrage.

Behavioral experts considered L. to have diminished to severely diminished criminal responsibility. He has also been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The court concluded he had slightly diminished criminal responsibility, noting among other things the thorough, long-term planning in which L. “constantly maintained control.” According to the court, the gravity of the crimes justified a life sentence.

L. was present at the very brief hearing before the court on Wednesday. Hiddema wants his client to attend his appeal proceedings in person from start to finish, to prevent him from “going astray” under the influence of a misguided “adviser.”

The lawyer referred to the imaginary computer with which L. said he had an “internal dialogue” in the lead-up to the murders. L. called this computer the Partition, which he claimed had forced him to devise his murder plans.

The next preliminary hearings before the court are scheduled for October 30 and December 2.