ASSEN, 13/12/06 - The district court in Assen yesterday sentenced a 49 year old man to eight years in jail for murder. He stabbed his 35 year old ex-girlfriend to death in front of travellers at Coevorden railway station on 24 March.

The man, a vagrant, awaited the victim on the platform with a knife in his hands. After a short exchange of words, he stabbed her eighteen times in her neck, back and head. According to witnesses, he calmly walked away from the body and subsequently turned himself in at the police station.

According to the murderer, he lost his home and job due to the woman's drugs habit. He lived in a car. With its low sentence, the court has taken into account "the personal circumstances" of the perpetrator. He must also pay the relatives damages compensation of over 3,000 euros.