Court Ends TBS for Man Who Killed Student Nadia van de Ven

Overview

• The Rechtbank Midden-Nederland ruled on Tuesday that the compulsory TBS measure for 53-year-old Pascal F. is finished and that he no longer needs probation supervision, allowing him to return to society.
• The decision rests on reports from the reclassering and a treating psychologist that describe stable functioning, compliance with rules, good stress management, and no violent incidents for more than two decades.
• Pascal F. was convicted in 2005 to 20 years in prison plus TBS for the 2002 killing of student Nadia van de Ven, and he began clinic treatment in 2011 before his inpatient care was conditionally ended in 2025.
• The public prosecution had asked the court to extend the TBS but the judges applied the Dutch gevaarscriterium, saying TBS can only be prolonged if there is demonstrable ongoing danger to others and the evidence did not meet that test.
• The court noted that the ruling will be painful for van de Ven’s relatives and the local community, and the end of formal supervision means public scrutiny and the family’s need for closure will now shape reactions and follow-up attention.