Man receives life sentence for killing 2 at Dutch activity farm for disabled individuals

A Dutch court on Friday convicted a man of killing two people at an activity farm for people with mental and psychological disabilities and earlier fatally shooting a man to test his weapon. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders and two attempted murders.

The defendant, identified only as John S. under Dutch privacy rules, fatally shot a female worker and a 16-year-old girl at the farm in Alblasserdam near the port city of Rotterdam on May 6, 2022. He shot and seriously wounded two other people at the farm.

The man had once been thrown out of the farm after he had a relationship with a person there. He also was convicted of threatening the person, who wasn’t identified by the court.

Two days earlier, he fatally shot a man at a shoe repair shop in the nearby town of Vlissingen to test the Glock pistol he had bought, prosecutors said.

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“The violence and cold-bloodedness are terrifying,” Rotterdam District Court said in a written verdict. “With these gruesome and senseless acts, the suspect inflicted colossal suffering on many.”

Life sentences are rare in the Netherlands, where the sentence means a convicted person must spend the rest of their life behind bars. But the court said that “given the gravity of the facts and the circumstances,” it was the only appropriate sentence.

Prosecutors had sought a 30-year sentence and mandatory psychiatric treatment for the suspect, who called the police after the shooting and confessed to the crimes.

The farm is a haven for young people and adults, mostly with disabilities or mental illness. It is also shelter for teenagers and adults who are trying to get their lives back on track, according to its website.