Utrecht woman who let her husband die on the kitchen floor does not have to go to jail

The woman called 911 a year and a half ago because her husband had fallen on the kitchen floor and she didn’t know what to do. When officers saw the stiffened body, she said he had been there for two days. The court finds it proven that she failed to seek medical help for her husband in time.

In the court’s opinion, when he fell to the kitchen floor, the man was in a helpless state and his wife purposely left him in that state. Because she did not call for help, he eventually died on the kitchen floor. According to the court, marriage partners are “obliged by their vow to take care of each other, especially in times of need. She has not kept that promise.”

The court takes into account that, according to experts, the woman has reduced responsibility. Furthermore, the reasonable period within which the case should have been settled has been amply exceeded. “She will have to live with the thought that her husband is no longer there because she has failed to seek medical help,” the court concluded.

Last month, the public prosecutor demanded a year of unconditional imprisonment against the woman. But according to the court, that has too many undesirable consequences. The couple led a socially isolated life for years. The woman has no friends or acquaintances and contact with her children and other relatives has also been broken for years. Due to a longer unconditional prison sentence, she would lose her home and there is a very good chance that she will socially decline after the sentence, the court says.

If the Public Prosecution Service or the suspect does not agree with the verdict, they have two weeks to appeal.