Homeless man N. Gyarmati (24) stabbed to death near Central Station

N. Gyarmati, a 24-year-old man, was fatally stabbed on the evening of Monday, 18 January 2016, in Amsterdam’s city centre, in the area around Central Station and Damrak. The perpetrator was Jaroslaw K., a Polish man with no fixed address who was later described by prosecutors as severely mentally ill. No clear motive for the stabbing ever emerged. Jaroslaw K. himself gave no explanation for what he had done. Gyarmati was violently attacked with a knife and suffered wounds to, among other places, his chest and back. He did not die immediately at the scene. After the stabbing, he managed to stagger towards Damrak, where he was noticed by a senior police officer. Shortly afterwards, he collapsed. Emergency services took him to hospital, but he died later that evening from his injuries. The perpetrator was not found that same night, despite a search in the area. One day later, Jaroslaw K. was arrested in connection with another offence. At the time of his arrest, red stains were visible on his trousers, jacket, shoes and bag. Forensic testing later showed that the stains were blood from N. Gyarmati. A knife was also found in a canal, and DNA from Jaroslaw K. was detected on it. The court found that there was sufficient evidence that he was responsible for the fatal stabbing. During the criminal case, it became clear that Jaroslaw K. suffered from serious psychiatric problems, including delusions and a fear of being killed. He was declared to have greatly diminished responsibility. On 24 October 2016, the court sentenced him to 279 days in prison, equal to the time he had already spent in pre-trial detention, and compulsory psychiatric treatment under a TBS order. The case was therefore legally concluded as a fatal stabbing without a clearly established motive, committed by a severely disturbed man in the area around Amsterdam Central Station.