Man, 54, sentenced to 20 years in prison for strangling his wife in Gelderland

The court in Arnhem has sentenced 54-year-old Mark I. to 20 years in prison for the strangulation of his wife Nelleke, 64, which occurred in mid-December of last year in Beuningen, Gelderland. The verdict matches the Public Prosecution Service’s recommendation.

The suspect declared that he murdered the woman in a panic after she tried to divorce him. I. was afraid that he would lose everyone due to this. The final trigger was Nelleke’s decision to have one of the dogs put down. The court found that the man did not kill his wife in a sudden fit of anger, but had planned the killing in advance. Searches found on his laptop and phone were among the evidence supporting that conclusion.

During the evening hours of December 13 leading into 14, I. got out of bed and went downstairs to the living room, where his wife was sleeping on a folding bed. He sat on top of her and strangled her. He then went to the computer and transferred 3,000 euros from their joint account to his business account. I. also messaged his mother before calling 112 and telling emergency services that he had strangled his wife.

The court described the defendant as “cold and emotionless,” saying he was concerned only with his own interests and the consequences for his own life. The court reprimanded him for placing his fear of losing his job, home and dogs above his wife’s life. “At no point did he show any respect for her or for the life he took from her. There was room only for his own fear, anger and contempt,” the court said.

The court noted that I. called the police himself and admitted to killing his wife. However, he never fully explained why he did it. “This makes the family’s inability to understand the killing, and therefore their grief, all the greater,” the court said.