77-year-old man found dead in bed

The 75-year-old Radjpatie S. was acquitted by the Amsterdam court of killing her 77-year-old partner K. Ramkhewan in his home on Aalbersestraat in Amsterdam-Geuzenveld. The case dates back to 28 January 2020, when a neighbour called the police after Radjpatie S. cried out for help in a distressed state. Officers found K. Ramkhewan dead in bed in the bedroom. A forensic doctor observed injuries to his face and neck, but pathologists from the Netherlands Forensic Institute could not determine a clear cause of death. According to experts, the injuries could possibly have been caused by violence, such as strangulation or smothering, but they could also have resulted from a fall, an impact, or another non-intentional cause. Ramkhewan had also suffered from serious heart problems for a long time, which the NFI said could have caused his death, possibly in combination with his medication. Radjpatie S. consistently denied killing her partner. She stated that they had been wallpapering together, then drank jenever, and eventually fell asleep. When she woke up later, she said she tried to shake him awake and touched his bloodied face, which according to her explained why there was blood under her fingernails. Prosecutors considered that blood incriminating evidence and ultimately demanded 9.5 years in prison for manslaughter. The court ruled, however, that there was insufficient solid evidence that K. Ramkhewan had died as a result of violence rather than, for example, heart failure. The court also found that it had not been established that his injuries were caused by another person. Radjpatie S. was therefore acquitted. The Public Prosecution Service had previously decided not to prosecute her, but Ramkhewan’s children successfully brought proceedings before the Court of Appeal, which ordered that a criminal case should still take place. The Amsterdam court gave judgment on 15 April 2026, after a hearing on 18 March. The charges ran from murder and manslaughter through aggravated assault resulting in death to simple assault resulting in death; she was acquitted of all of them. The court could not establish with sufficient certainty that Ramkhewan had died a non-natural death, nor that the injuries found on him had been inflicted by her. Alongside the Netherlands Forensic Institute, a second opinion had been obtained from the Belgian pathologist prof. dr. G. van Parys.