Criminal with mile-long rap sheet stabs supermarket employee in Netherlands to death

A convicted criminal in multiple countries killed a 36-year-old supermarket employee in The Hague yesterday in a potentially random attack.

According to the police, the man known as Jamel L. arrived shortly after the store opened, walked toward the employee and stabbed her.

Covered in blood, the perpetrator then quietly walked out of the store while bystanders attempted CPR.

However, Jamel L.’s history shows this isn’t his first violent attack.

Convicted in multiple countries

Here is what is seriously unhinged about this case: Jamel L. is a notorious criminal, suggest sources in De Telegraaf.

Here’s a quick rundown of the 56-year-old’s crimes:

In his 20s, the Antillean moved to the Netherlands and was convicted of serious violent crimes and extortion.
L. then moved to Britain, where he was convicted of a knife threat and a serious assault in 2007.
He was then expelled from the UK back to the Netherlands, where he was arrested (yes, again) for violent crime.
He left for Curacao for some time, where he also served a sentence for a serious crime.
He then returned to the Netherlands, where he later sent serious threats to employees of the municipality of Zwijndrecht, stating, “‘You guys are dealing with this dark black man. I’m going to shoot you all to shreds.”

TBS unsuccessful

For his crimes in the Netherlands, Jamel L. was previously sent to TBS. TBS is a Dutch system that gives mentally-ill people who have committed crimes psychiatric support in place of long, extensive prison sentences.

READ MORE | How the Dutch deal with mentally-ill criminals: the TBS system

While people often spend the rest of their lives in TBS, Jamel L., was released following treatment. Unfortunately, he continued to re-offend, leading to the woman’s death yesterday.

Religious fanatic

Lawyer Michael Mantz has assisted Jamel L. in the past. Upon hearing he was responsible, Mantz told De Telegraaf he thinks it could have been religiously motivated.

“He is a religious fanatic and thinks he is working for God. I fear he has seen this as an act for God.”

However, Mantz is surprised that he struck. “He has always been very menacing verbally, and he has conspiracy-like thinking and delusions. But that he stabbed someone surprises me.”

A spokesperson for Albert Heijn says they are “shocked and defeated” by the incident. “Our thoughts go out to family, friends and colleagues. We are now focusing on caring for our colleagues in the store.”

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