Life in prison for murder of Jesse

26 February 2008

AMSTERDAM – The appeal court in Den Bosch sentenced the 23-year-old suspect of the murder of Jesse Dingemans at a school in Hoogerheide to life in prison on Tuesday.

The court found that Julien C. had stabbed 8-year-old Jesse to death on 1 December 2006 in an act of premeditated murder.

The court’s penalty is much higher than the lower court’s sentencing of C. to 12 years in prison with mandatory psychiatric treatment, for manslaughter. In both cases the prosecution had asked that C. be convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison and mandatory psychiatric treatment.

Unlike the lower court, the appeal court saw no reason to impose mandatory psychiatric treatment. The suspect did not want to cooperate with an examination at the Pieter Baan psychiatric centre.

The suspect, who provided his own defence in the appeal case, announced immediately after the sentencing that he would appeal the case to the Supreme Court.