“Is that him?” The question was heard whispering in the crowded room, filled with relatives of the victims, employees of the Public Prosecution Service, court staff, police officers, and a few journalists. The tension was palpable. The man with a small dark moustache and a neat head of curls was indeed 33-year-old Fouad L. “I don’t like crowded rooms with lots of people”, he said when the judge asked how he felt about being there. “But let’s get started.” During the fifth and final pro forma hearing, he would say little. Even when given a final opportunity by the judge to say anything he wished, he remained silent.
Medical student Fouad is accused of eight offences, as outlined by the Public Prosecutor. These include the deaths of neighbour Marloes, her daughter Romy, and Erasmus MC lecturer Jurgen Damen, setting fire to his own home and the Erasmus MC Education Centre, possession of three firearms, stealing a staff pass from the hospital, and threatening at least three people by firing shots into the air.
On 28 September last year, the accused medical student Fouad L. (33) fatally shot his neighbour, her daughter, and lecturer Jurgen Damen. Shortly before being arrested outside, he set fire to the Education Centre with a Molotov cocktail. After his arrest, L. stated he had acted in full awareness and was angry because Erasmus MC had refused to grant him his diploma.
Negotiating revenge plans
The defence has requested further investigation into the mental health of the accused. At the Pieter Baan Centre, L. spoke for the first time about ‘Partitie‘ (Partition), an imaginary computer in his mind. At the age of twelve, feeling lonely, he created ‘Partitie’ based on an animation he had seen. The term refers to a partition, a separate part of a hard drive. For years, Fouad L. did not engage with Partitie, but in 2021, after a conversation with the Erasmus MC examination board, the interactions resumed and continued until a month before the 28 September attack.
In his mind, L. claimed to have worked with Partitie on his revenge plans. He believed the harm he had suffered — the refusal to grant him a diploma — was so severe that retaliation was necessary. A neighbourhood police officer reportedly informed Erasmus MC that L. had already been presenting himself as a doctor, even before earning his diploma. The university had maintained a file on him for years. This report prompted the institution to put his diploma on hold, despite his having completed all coursework, pending further psychological assessment. L. never complied with this request. He wanted revenge on his neighbour for filing multiple complaints with the police about animal abuse and disturbances. He was also furious with Erasmus MC, a sentiment he expressed during his initial police interrogation.
In his head, Partitie and L. negotiated what level of revenge would be sufficient and whether children should be among the victims. According to a quote read by his lawyer, the idea of harming children was described as ‘a concession’. L. reportedly did not want to harm children, as he felt they should not be punished for their parents’ actions. “I want them dead”, the computer in his head allegedly said. An earlier plan by L. would have resulted in more victims, but he revised it.
Call for further investigation
The defence argued that Partitie’s role had not been sufficiently examined. At the Pieter Baan Centre, L. stressed that he did not hear voices and described his interactions with Partitie as an internal dialogue. This contributed to a diagnosis of depersonalisation disorder, in which individuals feel detached from their own body, as if in a dream or alternate reality.
Later, L. told his lawyer that he did not truly want to take revenge and that Partitie had pushed him to act. “I postponed it several times. Not because I was nervous, but because I didn’t want to go through with it”, L. allegedly said. The defence contended that this should be further investigated, as it could determine whether he was considered to have diminished or severely diminished responsibility.
Applause
Applause broke out among the relatives when the judge denied the request for further investigation. Experts at the Pieter Baan Centre did not expect additional research to yield different results, especially given that L. had already undergone a second period of evaluation there. The judge and the Public Prosecution Service deemed the investigation complete. Wearing grey trousers, a jumper from the Vught Penitentiary Institution, and a thick blue coat, Fouad L. was escorted out of the courtroom.
The substantive hearing of the case will begin on Monday 27 January.
