The court in Limburg will announce the judgment in the Thijs H. case on Thursday. The case, which revolves around the death of three walkers in The Hague and Heerlen, can go in any direction: in case of insanity, TBS will follow with compulsory nursing, but if the judges go with the Public Prosecution Service (OM), a long prison sentence will follow in addition to TBS. .
The question that the court should consider is not whether the stabbing was committed by the 28-year-old man, but to what extent his actions can be attributed to him. In other words: is he partially or completely insane?
In order to assess this, the entire life history of the man has gone through. H.’s childhood is normal, as the first picture is sketched in court. He says that he sometimes struggled with social dynamics, but childhood friends describe him as “friendly” and “easy going”.
From the summer of 2018, he is not doing well at a rapid pace. He thinks of a burn-out and is increasingly using drugs and neglecting himself. Despite psychological help, the person in his twenties, who had just completed a promising internship and was offered a job, is sinking further and further.
At the end of the year, his mental distress escalates into a suicide attempt. Several times H. thinks he will be murdered or tortured, he wants this “for his”.
In the months that follow, the man sees only more evidence for “the system,” as he refers to psychopaths who rule the world. Now they don’t want to kill him if he doesn’t do what they say, but his family. All this results in the fatal stabbings on 4 and 7 May 2019.
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The research at the Scheveningse Bosjes. (Photo: Region 15)
“He couldn’t separate delusions from reality”
The Pieter Baan Center has been engaged to investigate the mental state of H. From this follows the conclusion “insane”. The experts questioned at the hearing say that he could no longer separate his psychotic delusions from reality and in his experience had no choice but to complete the ‘assignment’.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has questioned this. The prosecutors wondered aloud why he dared to “stop the assignment” on May 4, when he feared for the life of his family? And why didn’t H. stop using drugs, even though the psychopaths had to?
Search terms found on computer
A much discussed topic in the case is also the search terms found on the man’s computer. For example, he investigated how a psychopath behaved before the murders. Lawyer Serge Weening explains this when H. did research on the psychopaths and did not, as the Public Prosecution Service thinks, try to cover up with a complicated story.
PBC advice is usually taken up by the court, but it is not necessary. It is therefore questionable whether the judges go along with the story of the Public Prosecution Service, which last month demanded 24 years in prison and TBS with compulsory care.
In his last word, H. once again expressed regret to the next of kin. He also asked for court support. “I am someone who is committed to others. But now I am the one who asks for help in the form of treatment. I never want to hurt anyone again.”
The judgment starts at 1.30 pm. This can be followed live on NU.nl.
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