He got the fright of his life, the man who was walking his dog in the Sparrenrijk forest near Boxtel on the early morning of November 17, 2014. Among the trees lay a burning body. A man with bare feet, already half charred.

Mohammed F. (27), who admitted to setting the body on fire, yesterday heard a 12-year prison sentence demanded in the Den Bosch District Court for manslaughter and covering up the corpse of 43-year-old Rachid Dardari from Esch.

Mohammed F. had a love affair with Dardari's wife, and dús a motive. But yesterday he stuck to his denial that he killed Dardari. It was an accident, Mohammed F. claims, and afterwards he tried to dispose of the body in a panic, because he was afraid of prison.

Mohammed F. met his lover at the asylum seekers' center where they were both staying. Rachid Dardari was still in Syria, joining his wife only later. Mohammed F. cast himself as a family friend. He arranged a school for the children and helped remodel the house in Esch. Meanwhile, the Dardari's marriage was going downhill.

According to Mohammed F., Rachid struggled with the fact that as a man in the Netherlands he had less to say than in Syria. He beat his wife and children, says F. The Dardari's son therefore temporarily moved in with "uncle" Mohammed. Who, according to the son, announced that he would "take the father and set him on fire. Then the police don't know what happened."

On the night of Nov. 16-17, Mohammed F. wanted to talk to Dardari "about the son's problem. He forced his way into the residence, where it came to a struggle. F. sat on top of his victim. After three minutes, Dardari calmed down. He had suffocated. But F. denies murder: "I wanted to talk, not kill."

He tied up the corpse and loaded it into a bicycle cart. In the woods, he set Dardari on fire. It took police a week to figure out who the victim was. Dardari had not been reported missing. Murder could not be proved, the prosecutor said, but manslaughter could.

According to attorney Weening, Dardari's cause of death is not established. The man also suffered pulmonary emphysema and had a hunchback. He may have gone into respiratory distress faster than another victim, he says. Mohammed F. cannot be held responsible for that. Verdict in two weeks.

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