A 52-year-old man from Lent was sentenced to twelve years in prison and compulsory psychiatric treatment (tbs) on Wednesday for the manslaughter of his ex-partner.
The Meervoudige Kamer van de Rechtbank in Arnhem delivered the verdict against Danny C. for the fatal attack on 45-year-old Susanne in October 2025. The court ruled that the attack on the public street involved twenty-five stab wounds to the victim’s chest, abdomen, flanks, and back.
The victim was rushed to Radboudumc with severe blood loss and succumbed to her injuries the following day, on October 3, 2025. Investigators established that the woman had ended her relationship with C. just a few days prior to the killing.
Prior escalation and substance abuse formed the backdrop to the killing. According to De Rechtspraak, the final violence followed a pattern of family tensions “which were partly caused by the man’s use of alcohol and drugs”.
On September 21, 2025, an initial violent incident occurred in the family home when the couple’s oldest son returned home. C. shouted aggressively at the teenager and threatened him, stating, “You had better watch out tomorrow, I’m going to take you out tomorrow”, as reported by Moordplekken.
When Susanne intervened, C. grabbed her throat and broke her necklace. Police arrested him that night, leading to a contact and location ban alongside the initiation of divorce proceedings.
Weeks later, on the night of October 2, 2025, C. confronted the victim outside near their home. Behavioral experts established that C. has a light intellectual disability, a personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic traits, a psychotic disorder caused by substances, and a severe addiction to alcohol and cocaine. Witness statements indicated that the man had wanted to talk with the victim that evening.
Following the stabbing, the man was out of camera view for 39 minutes, during which no objective evidence or concrete indications showed that he planned the attack. The court said that carrying a knife was insufficient to prove premeditation, pointing to his plausible explanation that he had the knife with him because of fishing earlier that day.
During court proceedings, the defendant claimed he could not remember the incident. When presiding judges asked him, “Heeft u dat gedaan?” C. responded, “Dat weet ik niet”, according to transcripts cited by StadIndex.
Experts testified that there was no medical or neurological reason for such total memory loss, and the court held it against him that he kept the family in uncertainty about the exact course of events. Behavioral experts concluded that his conditions and addictions influenced his behavior during the stabbing incident.
The Openbaar Ministerie had demanded a fifteen-year prison sentence and tbs on charges of premeditated murder.
In addition to the twelve-year prison sentence and the unmaximized tbs measure with compulsory nursing, the court imposed a behavioral-influencing measure under article 38z of the Criminal Code. C. was also ordered to pay more than 100,000 euros in damages to the surviving relatives.
“Because you couldn’t accept that it was over,” said the eldest son during his victim impact statement regarding the breakup, as reported by Omroep Gelderland.