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According to the officer, murder and three attempted murders of his sons and wife have been proven. She does not believe in Martijn den B.’s defense that he wanted to commit suicide and acted in a state of constriction of consciousness. He wouldn’t have realized that his family was in the house, too. According to her, he deliberately wanted to drag them to death, to prevent them from discovering that he had lost his job due to embezzlement.
The officer called it “incomprehensible that Martijn den B. has come to this. Why set fire to your own house? It seems as if every ray of love for his neighbors is missing.”
Two of his sons and his wife managed to escape but were injured. During the first day of the trial in the court of Alkmaar, his now ex-wife said that she “felt cheated by my own guy who didn’t have the balls to confess what was going on. Who have I been living under one roof with all these years?”
Fraud and suicide attempt
Martijn den B. made a suicide attempt shortly after the discovery that he had committed fraud for 2.4 million euros and his instant dismissal. He hanged himself in the stairwell and left a suicide note for his family. In it he wrote that he had chosen the most selfish option to take his own life and leave his family behind with the mess he had caused.
When his attempt to hang himself failed, he looked for other options, according to the officer, and came across the option of arson on the internet. According to the officer, the fact that the word ‘family drama’ also appeared in the search results indicates premeditation. The same applies to the purchase of jerry cans that he filled with petrol and the purchase of a lighter, because there was no gas connection in his home.
The officer also thought that the fact that he started the fire in the stairwell did not make sense if it was only his intention to commit suicide. It was certain that the flames and smoke would quickly rise through that spot. “That indicates the full intent to kill his family as well,” said the officer.
Martijn den B. listened to the requisition, sobbing and with bowed head. His lawyers will speak later today.
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