On July 31, 2023, Nuri Tolga’s mother Ö. a report to the GGD and the GP. She was desperate. Her son, who has been struggling with mental problems for years, was acting increasingly confused. She no longer slept at home. O. allegedly told her that his downstairs neighbor Rens had been hired by the Dutch government and had installed cameras under his bed.
On Tuesday, August 1, a day later, Ö. According to the judiciary, two downstairs neighbors are down in their porch house in Robert Scottstraat in West. 25-year-old Rens did not survive the attack. His housemate Lars (29) was seriously injured.
How did it come to this? That question will be central to the court during the substantive hearing on Friday.
How Ö. It is unclear how he managed to enter the home of the two men on the morning of August 1. Lars was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, when Rens was called by Ö. was attacked with a kitchen knife in his bedroom. After Lars came to the aid of his housemate, a skirmish ensued with Ö.. Lars was stabbed in the neck, among other things. “You’re not going to make it,” Ö would say. have said. “You’re going to die soon, kid.”
Although Lars was bleeding profusely, he managed to escape outside. Meanwhile, Ö. appeared on the balcony of his downstairs neighbors. According to witnesses, he shouted, among other things, that he had ‘killed someone’ and that that person ‘deserved it’.
Mental health problems
O. According to his mother and sister, he has been struggling with mental problems since he was sixteen. He is said to suffer from delusions, is distrustful and exhibits both verbal and physically aggressive behavior.
Since 2020, local residents of Ö. several reports to the police, municipality and housing association Eigen Haard. If Ö. When his mother slept in the house in Robert Scott Street, he would spit in the porch, scream and bang on doors – often in the middle of the night. In 2021, the nuisance escalated and neighbors were threatened. Also Ö’s family. would have been desperate.
The lawyer for the surviving relatives, Ruth Jager, says that a series of authorities have failed. She speaks of a multitude of reports of confused behavior and nuisance – from both local residents and the suspect’s family. Help never materialized, partly due to long waiting lists in mental health care (ggz) and because the suspect refused contact with the probation service. “The nuisance was dismissed as a dispute between neighbors,” says Jager.
‘Mock trial’
O. was examined at the beginning of this year at the Pieter Baan Center. Although he refused to cooperate, it could be established that Ö. suffers from a ‘schizophrenic disorder’ with paranoid delusions and hallucinations. Drug use makes the delusions worse. The experts considered him to be less accountable and therefore recommended TBS with compulsory treatment. They think the chance of recurrence is high.
O. spoke several times on Friday of a ‘sham trial’. “I have been a victim of torture myself,” he says. “I have been poisoned through my tobacco for the past ten years. My testicles are swollen from the poison. Genocide is being committed against me, that is common knowledge.”
Ö, who was picked up from his cell with a so-called ‘bringing order’, repeatedly says that he has a ‘right to life’ and that this is being taken away from him. He raises his voice: “The truth is a few computer clicks away!”
During the officer’s argument, Ö. to clap his hands. The judge ordered him to remain silent, but Ö did not listen. “Are you going to shut my mouth?” he asked, after which he was led out of the room by the prosecutor’s office.
Confused persons
Last year, several violent incidents occurred due to people with confused behavior. Mayor Femke Halsema called the fatal incident in Robert Scottstraat ‘a low point’ and decided to conduct an independent investigation. The municipality hopes to learn lessons from this for a new pilot to provide confused people with appropriate care.
“The horror of this is unfathomable,” says Rens’ father. His son would have turned 26 on Wednesday. “This morning, for the first time since August 1, I feel anger about the hypocrisy. Because the man who took my son’s life speaks of his own ‘right to life’.” Rens’ father hopes that from now on, ‘preventive action’ will be taken at an early stage when reports of confused people are reported.
Lars also used his right to speak. He has since moved, but is still confronted every day with the physical and emotional damage caused by the incident. “How can it be that assistance has always been refused and no agency has taken action? We became victims of a ticking time bomb that eventually went off.”
The public prosecutor speaks of a ‘heartless attack’ and has proven the murder of Rens. The Public Prosecution Service also talks about attempted manslaughter on Lars. That Ö. neither explains nor shows remorse, he will be held heavily accountable. According to the Public Prosecution Service, Ö. reduced case of insanity.
The court will make its ruling on May 31.
About the author: Madelief van Dongen is a news reporter for Het Parool. She writes about all kinds of Amsterdam topics, from tourist policy to squatted buildings, and reports live on events in the city.
Tags: years prison TBS demanded suspect fatal stabbing Robert Scottstraat
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