On Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor (OM) asked for an eighteen-year prison sentence against Sandra H., a suspect in the murder of Ichelle van de Velde. The Belgian suspect allegedly strangled the 29-year-old victim on 15 December 2020.
H. confessed to strangling Van der Velde. On Tuesday she stated in court that a discussion had preceded her, in which both women pushed each other. After Van der Velde fell on the heater and passed out, H. said he “gently squeezed” the victim’s throat.
The Belgian suspect said she was panicking at the time and “was no longer able to think soberly”.
Van der Velde had disappeared from the outside world after the December accident. Her family and her friends were still receiving text messages from her, but because of her language they suspected that someone else had sent her messages.
Ten weeks after his disappearance, the victim was found in a canal. Van der Velde’s body had been sawn into pieces and torn to pieces.
Research showed that H. and her husband had started a love triangle with Van der Velde in the previous weeks. During that relationship, the spark between Ichelle and H.
The prosecutor asked for an unconditional prison sentence of 18 years in a Middelburg court on Wednesday. According to the prosecutor, H. of her would have felt “betrayed” by the victim, due to the love affair born between her then husband and her victim.
