Mother (34) stabbed to death outside a school in Buikslotermeer

Fatiha Abakhti, a 34-year-old mother of three, was stabbed to death on the morning of Thursday, 4 February 2016, in the street in Amsterdam-Noord, near a school on J.H. van Heekweg. She had been living in Amsterdam for only about a year and had previously lived in Almere. Fatiha was separated from her ex-husband Adil K., with whom she had three children. According to local residents, she lived alone with her children, and her ex sometimes came by in connection with contact arrangements with the children, but he was not allowed upstairs and had to wait downstairs. On the morning of 4 February, Fatiha was on her way to pick up one of her children from school when she was attacked in the street. A witness saw her crossing the road and then saw the perpetrator suddenly standing behind her. When Fatiha turned around, he stabbed her with a knife. He continued stabbing her several times, even after she had fallen to the ground. She suffered serious injuries to her neck, chest and heart area and died shortly afterwards in hospital. Police immediately searched for a man who had fled the scene and arrested her ex-husband Adil K. later that day. He denied stabbing her and continued to deny it throughout the trial. The evidence against him included witness statements, a taxi driver who saw his car speeding away near the crime scene shortly after the murder, and traces of Fatiha’s blood on the steering wheel of his car. Several witnesses also stated that Adil K. had threatened Fatiha three days before her death. According to those statements, he wanted her to come back to him and told her she had three days left, otherwise he would kill her. One of the witnesses was their 12-year-old daughter. The Public Prosecution Service demanded an 18-year prison sentence for murder. The Amsterdam District Court found that Adil K. had acted with premeditation and sentenced him on 9 March 2017 to 18 years in prison. On appeal, that sentence remained in place: on 7 March 2018, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal again sentenced Adil K. to 18 years in prison for murdering his ex-wife. The case is regarded as femicide: Fatiha Abakhti was killed in broad daylight in the street by her former partner, near one of her children’s schools, after she had ended the relationship.