HOLLAND – A 42-year-old man from Bodegraven suspected of stabbing his 35-year-old wife to death told the court on Monday that he thought she had become “a vampire with three colors in her eyes” and that “the devil was there” when he killed her. The Public Prosecutor demanded mandatory institutionalized psychiatric treatment against the Ljubisa O., the Telegraaf reports.

The victim. Jasmina O., was found stabbed to death next to a couch in the living room of the couple’s Bodegraven home in April. She had 71 stab wounds, some of them so deep that her ribs and nose were broken. A large knife lay on her body. Her body was also strewn with cigarettes and sunflower seeds. “They were thrown at her. I don’t know. Because the devil was there”, O. said on Monday. He told the court that he heard voices and that the pshychiatrist was trying to kill him. 

Ljubisa O. was known to have psychological problems. The family received assistance from aid agencies, and the couple’s children were previously removed from their custody, according to the newspaper. 

Behavioral experts concluded that O. was completely under the influence of his psychological disorder when his wife was killed, and he is therefore unaccountable. The Public Prosecutor accepts this conclusion, and therefore asked that the legal proceedings against O. be dismissed, but that he be sentenced to mandatory psychiatric treatment in an institution. 

The court will rule on June 17th.