Heerlen-Maastricht Badred D. (26) did not attempt to seriously injure his seven-week-old twins in October. The Maasmechelen resident was guilty of attempted manslaughter of his wife (26) in Heerlen. Yesterday, the court in Maastricht sentenced him to ten months' imprisonment, of which five were on probation.The sentence that the judges handed out to Ed D. yesterday is much lower than that demanded by public prosecutor De Loo two weeks ago: twenty months' imprisonment, of which five were on probation. The court did not consider proven most of the offenses of which the Moroccan-born man is suspected.

During a marital dispute at his mother-in-law's home in Heerlen, he allegedly tried to abuse his seven-week-old daughters. One of the girls he allegedly shook violently. But at the hearing, the man and his wife - who unexpectedly came to give an exculpatory statement for her husband - demonstrated what Ed D. would have really done: gently rocking the baby in his arms. In the bedroom, he allegedly threw the other girl against the wooden bed frame, and he also allegedly put his hand on the girl's mouth and throat. However, only the grandmother witnessed the first act, and only the mother witnessed the second.

Also because no injuries were found in both babies, their denying father is acquitted of attempted aggravated assault. The court also considers other charges unproven. For example, there is no evidence that the husband put a knife to his wife's throat in the kitchen. Only the wife herself f has testified to that. A testimony which she considerably weakened during the hearing. There is also no evidence that he also verbally threatened to kill her. But for what happened next in the bedroom, the man is punished. He attempted to suffocate his wife with a pillow. The victim and her mother stated this to the police. The court apparently does not give credence to the mother's testimony at the hearing: that the pillow "fell" on her face several times during a struggle.

The spouses were initially going to separate, but now want to move forward together again. The imposed prison sentence is much more in the direction of what lawyer Serge Weening of Ed D. considered reasonable at most: the duration of the remand. But he actually thought that entire acquittal was in order.

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