Woman stabbed in home on Waterlandplein. Dies at the scene.

Hafize Ş., a 44-year-old woman of Turkish origin and mother of two children, was stabbed to death at around 09:00 on Thursday, 5 December 2019, inside a home on Waterlandplein in Amsterdam-Noord. Dutch official sources did not publicly name her, but several Turkish-language media identified her as Hafize Ş. She worked in the bread department of a supermarket and was described by colleagues as a spontaneous and helpful woman. The stabbing took place in a domestic context. According to the Public Prosecution Service, her husband, Mesut Ş., had an argument with her that morning. He took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her multiple times. A total of 31 stab wounds and 1 cutting wound were found on the victim’s body, with vital organs, veins and tissue being perforated. The couple’s two sons, then aged 6 and 15, witnessed the violence. The eldest son tried to pull his father away from his mother in an attempt to protect her. According to prosecutors, he heard his father say that he had done it because she wanted a divorce and because he wanted to prevent her from taking the children away from him. Hafize Ş. died from her injuries inside the home. Shortly after the stabbing, Mesut Ş. was arrested on Insulindeweg in Amsterdam-Oost. The Public Prosecution Service considered the case manslaughter, because prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence of premeditated murder, but the large number of stab wounds and the injuries to vital parts of the body showed intent to kill. In December 2020, prosecutors demanded seven years in prison and compulsory psychiatric treatment under a TBS order. The court ultimately sentenced Mesut Ş. to five years in prison and TBS. The case is often viewed as femicide, because the woman was killed by her husband after she wanted a divorce.