DEN BOSCH - The verdict of the district court in Den Bosch that sentenced a 30-year-old Pole to 10 years in prison for the murder of his Helmond girlfriend, B. Tolhuis, still stands. The Pole had appealed, hoping that a psychiatric and psychological examination would reveal that he was not fully culpable at the time of the murder.

This could lead to a reduction in sentence. However, the results of the examination leave nothing to be desired in terms of clarity. Both the psychiatrist and the psychologist declared him fully culpable. The Pole subsequently withdrew the appeal yesterday.

The president of the court said that the appeal was actually withdrawn too late, but that there was no interest in continuing the hearing nonetheless. The court's ruling thus stands.

The Pole killed his 47-year-old girlfriend with eight stabbings on May 10, 2008, in her Volderhof residence. He then fled to Poland in her car. Mrs. Tolhuis' son found his mother dead in her bed a day after the crime. He wanted to visit her with his wife and little son because of Mother's Day.

The case did not come to trial until 3.5 years after the murder because the man had yet to serve a sentence in Poland.