A Dutch court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend with at least 287 stab wounds after a judge halved the prosecutor’s 10-year request based on documentation showing he had “very low IQ.”
Arnold Oforiwaa was convicted of murdering Jihaneve, 22, in a house on Weidedreef in the Zoetermeer district of Segert on 18 July last year. The young mother died from the extreme violence whilst their two-week-old baby remained unharmed in the property.
The prosecutor had requested a 10-year prison sentence for the killing. However, the judge at The Hague court reduced the term by half after reviewing evidence about Oforiwaa’s cognitive abilities. The documentation presented showed he had very low IQ, which influenced the sentencing decision.
Forensic experts testified during the Wednesday trial that the victim was stabbed and cut at least 287 times. “She was stabbed like a wild one,” an expert stated in the courtroom while describing the extent of the violence inflicted on the young mother.
The court heard that Oforiwaa filmed the victim immediately after the fatal stabbing as she lay bleeding. He also photographed their two-week-old baby and took a selfie with the infant. The disturbing images were presented as evidence during proceedings.
Police detained Oforiwaa at the scene following the killing. When questioned by the court about the violence, he claimed he remembered nothing about the attack. “It was black before my eyes,” he repeated multiple times during testimony.
The defendant stated the argument that preceded the killing broke out over their baby. According to evidence presented, Oforiwaa murdered the young mother because she focused too much on caring for their newborn and too little on him.
The two-week-old child remained physically unharmed during the incident and was removed from the property by authorities following the mother’s death. The infant’s current care arrangements have not been disclosed.
The five-year sentence has raised questions about how cognitive assessments influence sentencing in extreme violence cases. The judge’s decision to halve the prosecutor’s recommendation based on low IQ documentation represents a significant reduction given the severity and nature of the crime.
Dutch sentencing guidelines allow judges to consider diminished responsibility based on mental capacity assessments. The low IQ documentation presented in Oforiwaa’s case proved decisive in reducing what would have been a decade-long prison term to five years.
The convicted man will serve his sentence in a Dutch correctional facility. Following completion of the five-year term, he will be subject to standard post-release supervision conditions under Dutch criminal justice procedures.
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