Man gets 30 years for fatal shooting of woman in Rijswijk, witnessed by 4-year-old son
A Dutch court in The Hague on Monday sentenced Sayed A., a 58-year-old man, to 30 years in prison for the 2024 murder of his 38-year-old neighbor in Rijswijk, South Holland, a case the court described as “an icy femicide.” The victim, Paro Ramlagan, was shot multiple times in the portico of her apartment building on Galjoenstraat on Sept. 20, 2024, in front of her 4-year-old son, whom prosecutors allege Sayed A. also attempted to kill. Investigators said the child stood directly next to his mother during the shooting. Bullet damage was later found in the boy’s belongings.
According to the court, Sayed A. fired seven bullets at Ramlagan, striking her in the head, upper body, and arm. One of the bullets passed through the child’s hood, backpack, and lunchbox but did not injure him. A. also reportedly pointed his weapon at the boy and at a neighbor, but the gun was empty when he attempted to fire.
The court found that A. acted with premeditation. Judges said he went to retrieve his firearm after hearing Ramlagan speaking with another resident about him inside the building. When he returned and saw she was still in conversation, he opened fire in the portico of the apartment complex.
Ramlagan had repeatedly told neighbors and friends in the weeks before her death that her upper-floor neighbor, then 57-year-old A., had been threatening her after she rejected a relationship with him.
She documented her concerns in a detailed letter. “As a mother you want to see your child grow up, but a bastard of a neighbor is going to make sure that this will not happen. I don’t know how long I have left to live,” she wrote. The defense disputed the letter’s authenticity, but the court ruled it was genuine. Investigators also found she had filed a report with a housing corporation and wrote what was described as a farewell letter shortly before her death.
The court said A. later blamed the victim for the conflict and claimed she had defamed him to other residents. Judges rejected that account, saying it was not supported by evidence. During the proceedings, he showed no remorse and did not answer when asked if he felt regret.
After the shooting, A. also threatened other residents with the firearm. One neighbor took the child from the scene and brought him to safety in his own home. When A. pointed his gun at that neighbor and pulled the trigger, no ammunition remained in the weapon. The court described the intervention as a “heroic act.”
Judges also said A. was guilty of attempted manslaughter of the child and of threatening multiple residents. They added that his actions showed “a complete lack of respect for human life and the safety of others."
A. had previously been convicted in 2013 of attempted manslaughter related to a stabbing incident and received a two-year prison sentence, including four months suspended. The court said this earlier conviction weighed in its sentencing decision.
The sentence matches the 30-year demand from the Public Prosecution Service. The court also ordered post-release supervision after his imprisonment and compensation payments to the child and threatened residents.
