Widower files charges against psychiatric clinic over wife's murder by patient
The widower of Willemijn Klijnhout (76) has pressed charges of death through negligence against the Fivoor psychiatric clinic in Den Dolder. A patient of the clinic killed his wife in January 2025, stabbing her 17 times, while he was let out on unsupervised leave. Mert P. was sentenced to eight years in prison and institutionalized treatment on Wednesday.
Now that P. has been sentenced, Klijnhout (83) wants the truth to come out, his lawyer, Hetty Dijkstra, told AD. He wants to know how Fivoor let P. out on unsupervised leave despite knowing about his complex mental health problems. Did the clinic give any thought to the risks it was taking?
He had hoped that the Dutch Safety Board would investigate responsibility, as it happened when another Fivoor patient, Michael P., raped and killed Anne Faber in 2017. But as that didn’t happen, Klijnhout is taking steps himself.
“Fivoor is not being transparent, it is not taking responsibility, and it is stalling,” Dijkstra told the newspaper. “And the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate also steers clear of the question of who is responsible. So the client - who cannot compel an investigation by the Dutch Safety Board himself - has no other option than to file charges against Fivoor. In the hope that an answer will be provided to all his unanswered questions.”
According to Dijkstra, Fivoor was aware that Mert P., who was admitted to the clinic for forced treatment, had complex issues. During the trial, Mert P. said that he had to kill people to receive a bonus, like in computer games. He also admitted to confusing real life for computer games.
“He has serious revenge fantasies and is convinced that violence is good in some situations,” the lawyer said. “And his criminal record states that he used medication, but not always. It is also known that he previously harassed and assaulted people on the street indiscriminately. If you add all that up, the question is how it was possible that he was allowed out on leave. And who made that decision?’
“That someone like that was sent out onto the street unsupervised is inconceivable to my client,” Dijkstra said. “My client says: I owe it to Willemijn to press charges now that all the authorities are stalling.”
Fivoor previously said that it was open to discussions with Klijnhout. “We understand the widower’s reaction and also that he expects more from us. No one wants an outcome like this, but unfortunately, it has happened. The people at Fivoor do their utmost to perform their work carefully and be alert to risks, for example when someone goes outside. Nevertheless, we were unable to prevent this tragic death. That is terrible,” the clinic told AD.
