The 36-year-old Garland van der K. Has Been Sentenced on Appeal to 17.5 years in Prison and Compulsory Treatment Order (TBS). In 2022, he murdered his then-girlfriend with 62 stab wounds in the presence of her children.
The Court in Dordrecht Previously Sentenced van der K. To Eighteen Years in Prison and TBS. The Court of Appeal in the Hague Has Arrived at a Slightly Lower Prison Sentence it was tok a long time for the case to be heard on appeal.
The Main Question for the Court was Whether van der K. Acted on Impulse Or Whether He had Planned His Crime in Advance. The First Case is Manslaughter and the Second Case is Murder, which is Punished More Severely.
Like the court, the court of appeal rules that it is Murder. In the period leading up to the murder, the thirty-year-old Shella, Told van der K. That She wanted to end the Relationship With Him. He then said several times that would “kill” her if she did so.
Therefore, The Court of Appeal Rules that van der K. Did not act on impulse, but previously decided to murder her if she ended the relationship.
Court Condemns Act of Femicide
Van der K. Murdered His then-Girlfriend on January 18, 2022, in Rotterdam-Zuid. This Happened Before the Eyes of Their daughter and Her son, Who Were Three and Thirteen Years Old At The Time. 62 Stab Wounds Were Found on Shella’s Body.
Shella’s son Tried to Stop van der K. The Man Then Pointed His Knife At The Boy and Told Him To Leave. The Court had PreviOutly Ruled that that was the moment when van der K. Could have changed his mind if there had leg an impulse. But he did.
The Court Finds that van der K. is guilty of femicide. “The Woman was a Victim Due to a Combination of Jealousy, Suspicion, Aggression and Possessiveness and Controlling Behavior. Killing a Woman Because She Chooses Her Own Path is a serious social problem that creates Great Feelings of Insecurity.” The Court Therefore Believes That a Long Prison Sentence is appropriate and also a signal that femicide is being tackled.