Argument escalates into stabbing.

The 29-year-old Roderick Leta was stabbed to death on Sunday evening, 13 January 2019, on Van Reigersbergenstraat in Amsterdam-West. He was taken to hospital after the stabbing but died from his injuries. It later emerged that he had suffered 29 stab wounds. The suspect was the then 22-year-old Amsterdam resident Ahmad P. According to the Public Prosecution Service, Ahmad P. came into view because he had had frequent contact with Roderick Leta on the day of his death, while initially giving an incorrect statement about that contact. During a witness interview, investigators also noticed a cut in Ahmad P.’s right palm, in the same place as damage to a right-hand glove found at the crime scene. DNA from both Ahmad P. and Roderick Leta was found on gloves, a jacket and a kitchen knife found on or near the scene. In Ahmad P.’s home, police also found a knife sheath matching the knife and shoes with the victim’s blood on them; the sole pattern matched tracks found at the crime scene. According to relatives, Roderick Leta often carried a small bag with money, which was not found after his death. Prosecutors argued that Ahmad P. had probably robbed him and stabbed him to death in the process. Ahmad P. denied this and stated that Roderick Leta owed him money and that he had brought a knife to threaten him. He said he stabbed during a struggle. The Public Prosecution Service demanded 18 years in prison for murder, but on 5 June 2020 the court sentenced Ahmad P. to 14 years in prison for manslaughter. The court found that it had not been proven that he had planned in advance to stab Roderick Leta, but described the case as a very serious form of manslaughter. Ahmad P. was also ordered to pay more than €63,000 in compensation to Leta’s relatives. On appeal, the 14-year prison sentence was upheld, but the court also imposed a behaviour-influencing and liberty-restricting measure, allowing Ahmad P. to be placed under longer and more intensive supervision after his release.