SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - The Court of Appeal has upheld the 12-year prison sentence imposed on J.J.M.J.H. for manslaughter in connection with the fatal stabbing of E.M.R. in Dutch Quarter on February 6, 2025.
The Court of First Instance convicted J.J.M.J.H. of manslaughter. It sentenced him to 12 years in prison, with time spent in pre-trial detention deducted. On appeal, the defence sought an acquittal, while the Prosecutor General asked the Court to increase the sentence to 14 years. The Court of Appeal rejected both requests.
The defence argued that J.J.M.J.H.’s DNA on a backpack and knife did not prove that he had committed the stabbing. It also challenged the reliability of a witness who identified him and maintained that another person had used his knife to stab the victim.
At the defence’s request, the Court of Appeal heard two witnesses. N.N.’s evidence was materially consistent with her earlier statements to police. The Court said that her inability to recall some details when questioned later did not make those earlier statements unreliable, given the time that had passed. G.P.R. testified that he was elsewhere on the island that evening and did not know the person J.J.M.J.H. said had committed the stabbing. The Court found no reason to doubt G.P.R.’s evidence.
The Court also found that the defence’s claim about DNA from an unidentified third person on the backpack and knife was based on a misreading of the forensic report. It rejected the alternative account and upheld the conviction.
The Court of Appeal confirmed the first-instance judgment, supplementing and correcting parts of its reasoning. The first-instance judgment was delivered on December 18, 2025.
