FULL TEXT (translated from Dutch): The
court in Groningen on Thursday [May 2, 1996] sentenced the 43-year-old Martha
U. from Delfzijl, Netherlands, to nine years in prison and TBS* with compulsory
treatment for murder of four patients in the Vliethoven nursing home in
Delfzijl.
After her arrest in September 1995, Martha
U. confessed that in recent years, 'out of pity', she had injected nine patients
in the nursing home with insulin. Despite her confession, she was charged with only
four murders. Martha U. had worked for more than twenty years in the Vliethoven
nuring home.
According to behavioral experts, the woman
was unstable during the murders and there is a great risk of recurrence. On the
basis of the psychiatric reports on Martha U., the public prosecutor, O.
Brouwer, portrayed the former caregiver two weeks ago as the perfect murderess;
a tough, frustrated and power-hungry woman who, without treatment, is a
disassembled time bomb.
The court also briefly referred to the
reports from the Medical Inspectorate about the situation in the nursing home.
It stated, among other things, that Martha U. could go about her business in
one of the toughest departments without supervision. "Even though she was
able to function solitarily, she also had her own responsibilities," the
court said.
Martha U. was arrested last September
after a suspicious death. During the trial it turned out that the former
medical director of Vliethoven De Boo had been suspicious much earlier. But for
fear of investigations, he kept "the dirty laundry inside."
In Vliethoven, interim manager E. Bolle is
now putting things in order. "We learned a lot from this case. Unsupervised
action is no longer possible. We are also pleased that the court does not see
the nursing home as the culprit," was his response after the verdict.
During the ruling in Groningen yesterday,
as always during the trial, many relatives of the victims, relatives of Martha
and former colleagues from Vliethoven were present.
[“Caregiver gets nine years and tbs after
the murder of the elderly” (Verzorgster krijgt negen jaar en tbs na
moord op bejaarden), De
Volkskrant, May 3, 1996)
*
(TBS) is a provision in the Dutch criminal code that allows for a period of
treatment following a prison sentence for mentally disordered offenders.
***
1995 –
"Martha U" –
Delfzijl, Netherlands
murder of four patients in the Vliethoven
nursing home in Delfzijl
Sep. 1995 – Martha U. was arrested after a
suspicious death.
May 2, 1996 – Martha U. (43), sentenced to
9 years. Groningen court.
2013 – Martha U was released from prison.
On release: [“Seriekillers 'Heks van Anjum' en
'Engel des Doods' vrij,” Noorhollands Dagblad, Jun. 6, 2013]
***
A documentary film on the case, “De
stilte van Martha U” (“The Silence of Martha U”), was produced. It has been withdrawn due to "privacy."
***
For more cases, see Sicko Nurses
***
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***
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