# Court cuts Diemen unborn-child murder sentence to 14 years

> The Amsterdam court of appeal on Wednesday cut Dennis van E.'s prison term from 16 years and ruled out compulsory psychiatric treatment (tbs).

Society · published 2026-10-28 15:01 · https://nlnow.nl/a/court-cuts-diemen-abortion-murder-sentence-to-14-years/

The Amsterdam court of appeal on Wednesday sentenced Dennis van E., 55, to 14 years in prison for the murder of his unborn child and the fatal abuse of the child's mother, 32-year-old Patricia Oliveira dos Santos from Brazil.

Van E. went to a police station in his home town of Diemen on 18 October 2019 and said his girlfriend and their baby lay dead in his house. The investigation found he had given her abortion pills, alcohol and several kinds of drugs. She was then 32 to 37 weeks pregnant.

She was expecting a son; Van E. insisted on a daughter. The court said he deliberately wanted to end the baby's life and also took unacceptable risks with his girlfriend's life.

In 2024 the district court gave Van E. 16 years and tbs with compulsory treatment. The appeal court imposed no tbs: he refused to cooperate with any examination and experts found no disorder, so the legal requirements were not met, the court said.

The court considered 15 years an appropriate sentence but took into account the years of delay in the case. On appeal, the Public Prosecution Service had demanded 15 years and 9 months plus tbs.

## Background

- **tbs (terbeschikkingstelling)**: Tbs is a Dutch court-ordered measure under which a person with a mental disorder who has committed a serious offence is placed in a forensic psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment, usually for an indefinite period that is reviewed regularly. It can be imposed alongside a prison sentence, but only when legal conditions are met, including a diagnosed disorder linked to the offence and a risk to public safety.
- **OM (Openbaar Ministerie)**: The Openbaar Ministerie is the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, which directs criminal investigations together with the police, decides whether a suspect is prosecuted, and represents the state in court. In trials it makes the sentencing demand (requisitoir) that the judge takes into account, and it can also appeal court decisions.

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