Selçuk A. has been sentenced to eight years in prison and compulsory treatment order for strangling his wife in their home in Rotterdam on Wednesday. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), he killed her because she wanted to divorce him.
The OM demanded fifteen years in prison and compulsory treatment order earlier this month. The court in Dordrecht has therefore opted for a lower sentence. “The demand for fifteen years imprisonment is not in line with what is customary in such a case,” the judge explained.
In addition, the judge took into account that the 36-year-old A. was partially accountable during his act. According to experts, the suspect has an antisocial personality disorder with paranoid traits and post-traumatic stress disorder. He also had problems with drug use.
A. has confessed. He stated that he cannot remember everything, but that he assumes that he was the one who killed his 28-year-old wife. The court says it cannot determine that A. had planned to kill his wife in advance. Therefore, he is acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter.
The OM doubted A.’s statements. The public prosecutor spoke of a “horrific” case with a lot of impact when making the demand. After his act, the suspect fled by car and left his baby in the house. He was allegedly on his way to Copenhagen and was arrested near Oldenzaal.
From the car, A. called the victim’s father and sister with the message that they had to go to the house and take care of the child. They found the woman on the couch. “The suffering and loss for family and relatives is enormous,” said the judge, who called it extra painful that A. never showed remorse or any self-insight.