Court orders involuntary psychiatric care for Father who killed Son, 12; no jail time
A 46-year-old man from Groningen has been sentenced to mandatory psychiatric treatment for the murder of his 12-year-old. The court convicted Curt E. for fatally stabbing Gianny-Davey, but did not impose any jail time, as they felt it was proven that E. was in a state of psychosis during the act.
E. had stopped taking his medication for his psychological issues, which included schizophrenia. This rendered him not criminally responsible for the act, according to the court.
This was aligned with the recommendation from the Public Prosecution Service (OM), which stated previously that E.'s choice to stop taking medication cannot be blamed on him, since it was made under the influence of his disorder, preventing him from foreseeing that it might result in such extreme violence.
The 12-year-old, who lived in Amsterdam, was visiting his father in Groningen when the incident took place on December 29. Police found the boy’s body in the house on the Blekerslaan in the Oostpoort district after E. had called the emergency services. He instantly admitted to having killed his son with a kitchen knife.
The suspect had also been in court for attacking the mother of his child in 2014. He was diagnosed with Schizophrenia on that occasion. E. stated that he stopped taking his medication last year after he had fallen into a depression following the death of his father.
E. was also ordered to pay 40,000 euros in damages to Gianny Davey’s relatives. Although the relatives had wished for a lengthy prison sentence, they were pleased with the verdict.
“It wasn’t what we wanted, because that would also have meant a long prison sentence. But we still see the ruling as a form of justice to some extent, due to the imposition of involuntary psychiatric treatment and the awarding of compensation,” the child’s mother told RTV Noord.
