Nieuwedieper (53) not convicted for death of fellow citizen: “Was self-defense”

The fatal brawl originated in front of the house of the victim on the Ruyghweg in Den Helder. Shortly after the now 53-year-old man walked outside, he was attacked from behind by the victim. He hit him on the head with brass knuckles, after which the man fell and received several more blows to his head and face.

When the man managed to grab the victim on the ground between blows, he held him tightly in a neck clamp and continued to hold him that way. In the meantime, the emergency services had already been called, but when they arrived the victim had already died.

Cage fighter

The man told the judge that he had become disoriented due to the amount of blood in his face. He said he had no choice but to restrain the victim with his arm around the neck and was afraid that if he had loosened the neck clamp, he would have continued to hit. “The suspect said he acted in survival mode,” the judge said. “He could the victim not otherwise restrained, given the man’s stature and his background as a cage fighter.”

It does not often happen that the judge agrees with the defense of self-defense, but in this case it is justified, the judge indicates. “The suspect experienced this attack by the victim as a life-threatening situation, in which he was controlled by fear.”