Father of 14-year-old Nour no longer a suspect in her killing in the Netherlands
Six months after the death of Nour, a 14-year-old of Moroccan origin killed in Blerick, Dutch prosecutors have cleared her father of suspicion. They believe her mother acted alone. A new hearing is scheduled for January.
Nour’s father is no longer a suspect. Dutch prosecutors announced the decision on Thursday, October 22, before the court in Roermond, six months after his daughter died in Blerick, near Venlo. At this second preparatory hearing, prosecutors confirmed that the investigation now points to the mother as the only person under suspicion.
On April 20, both parents were arrested after their 14-year-old daughter was found fatally injured at the family home. Her father was released three days later. But that decision did not end the investigation into him: he remained a suspect.
In July, a first hearing revealed a major difficulty for investigators. They were still trying to determine who had restrained Nour before her death and whether her mother could have acted without assistance. These questions had prolonged the suspicion surrounding her father.
Prosecutors now hold the mother solely responsible
At the October 22 hearing, prosecutors changed their position. According to the Dutch news agency ANP, they believe Fouzia R., 59, was solely responsible for the fatal violence. The official Dutch justice website expressly confirms that the father is no longer among the suspects.
The mother admitted killing her daughter after her arrest. Held in pretrial detention, she did not appear in court on Thursday. The motive remains unknown: according to prosecutors, conducting in-depth questioning has proved almost impossible.
She is to undergo observation at the Pieter Baan Centrum, a facility specializing in forensic psychiatric assessments. The evaluation is intended to shed light on her mental state before the case is examined on its merits. The presumption of innocence remains in force until the verdict.
The next preparatory hearing is scheduled for January 15, 2027. The court has not yet announced a date for the trial on the merits.
