Prosecutor recommends suspended sentence for woman who allegedly set boyfriend on fire

The Public Prosecution Service has recommended a one-year conditionally suspended prison sentence for a 26-year-old woman from Zoetermeer, who allegedly set her boyfriend on fire in 2022. The incident left the man with burns covering his entire body.

Claudia den H. is accused of pouring methylated spirits over her then-boyfriend as he slept in bed on January 21 of that year in Capelle aan den IJssel, and setting it on fire. She told the court that she had been living with him and others in a squatted property, and admitted that their relationship had been “unhealthy.”

According to the public prosecutor, these are “serious offenses.” However, she does not want the woman to go to prison. “She is doing well now, and that would disrupt her progress,” he prosecution proposed that the defendant follow certain conditions, including mandatory assisted living and undergoing treatment.

The woman suffers from serious psychological problems and substance abuse. Diagnoses include borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. Experts reported that her condition was particularly severe in the year the incident occurred.

After the incident, the police found her in a confused state in Rotterdam. She told officers that she had been “playing with fire in her madness” and that “her boyfriend’s bed suddenly caught fire.” Investigators found methylated spirits and a lighter in the home. The man recalled seeing her in the doorway as he woke to the flames, believing she was there to help him.

In his victim statement, he wrote, “I woke up in a nightmare. I felt the heat, the pain, and the panic.” He eventually managed to put out the fire. According to his lawyer, he sustained burns across his entire body and is contemplating a skin transplant. He continues to struggle with anxiety and panic stemming from the incident.

Den H. says she does not remember the incident. “I don’t know, and I can’t imagine it,” she told the court in Dordrecht in tears. “I loved that boy, and I can’t imagine it.”

The verdict is scheduled to be announced by the court on October 30