A trans-identified male in the Netherlands charged with committing a brutal murder has been placed in a women’s prison ahead of his final hearings. Known only as “Daniela D.,” the 32-year-old Chilean national is accused of having stabbed a man 214 times, targeting his eyes, ears, and genitals.
The incident is said to have occurred on December 23 of 2022 during an altercation that took place at the home of Danny Roth. Daniela was reportedly working as a prostitute at the time in the Rotterdam region, with Roth being an occasional client.
Details of the moments leading up to the killing are unclear, though Daniela’s lawyer has attempted to forward “a case of self-defense excess.” with Daniela testifying that Roth had taken drugs which caused him to hallucinate.
blood patterns spattered across the wall. According to an analysis of the crime scene, the victim’s blood was dusted high up across the walls. In Daniela’s version of events, the expert said, the blood would have mainly been on the ground and not “in an upward direction all around.”
An autopsy also showed that while there was alcohol and cocaine in Roth’s body, there were no traces of other substances, such as the purported “hallucinogenic pill” his system.
Additionally, Daniela made a disturbing admission in a recorded phone call shortly after the assault.
“I stabbed both eyes, so that he cannot recognize me when the police show him a photo. I stabbed his ears, so that he cannot hear questions from the police,” Daniela told a friend. “And I broke the bottle on his head. I didn’t want to stop hitting him.”
The Public Prosecution Service presented a different scenario from the story told by Daniela and pointed to the significant amount of cuts all over Roth’s body as an important indication of anger.
“The stabbing was deliberate and targeted. That is not fear, but anger and revenge. It is not self-defense but an attack.” A coroner determined that Roth’s penis was slashed with a knife after he was already dead.
Roth’s body was found on December 26, three days after the fatal attack, by a friend and a neighbor who stopped by wondering where he was. Roth had not shown up for appointments, and his family had become concerned when they could not contact him over the holidays. Roth’s body was discovered lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood.
The victim’s sister testified in court and strongly condemned Daniela while requesting the maximum possible sentence.
“I hope your hand still hurts every day. When you go to sleep, I hope you see his face. You had an overwhelming anger, from the top of your head to your toes. So bad that the most gruesome horror film is nothing like it,” Roth’s sister told the accused.
Daniela D. has been residing illegally in the Netherlands since February 2022, where he has been involved in the sex industry. The court heard that he came from a broken home and that he had been “bullied” as a youth by peers who did not accept his gender identity.
The Public Prosecution Service is seeking a sentence of fourteen years in prison. The court in Dordrecht will announce its final verdict on December 5.
Despite being fully intact, Daniela is being detained in Ter Peel women’s prison, and it is anticipated that should he be convicted, he will serve his sentence in a women’s institution.
Journalist Sybilla Claus, writing for Brabants Dagblad, called the situation “unacceptable” for female inmates.
“Is it safe for one violent perpetrator, who is biologically male, to disrupt the lives of hundreds of incarcerated women for up to 14 years? The director of the largest women’s prison, Ter Peel, between Venlo and Helmond, thinks it’s fine. He had the extremely violent Chilean suspect, with male genitalia, placed there among the 226 women,” Claus wrote.
“They have the right to their own protection, privacy and dignity… Research shows that a large proportion of imprisoned women have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence as children and afterwards, and end up in an abusive relationship.”
Claus emphasized that “there are few female criminals in the Netherlands. There are three women’s prisons … which house around 3,000 women annually. Most are released within three months, because they commit lighter crimes,” she wrote. “Behavioral scientist Katharina Joosen interviewed about four hundred former women inmates. She described in 2015 that half have a criminal or addicted partner and have been treated for serious psychological problems due to trauma.”