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Facebook murder

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Not to be confused with Killing of Robert Godwin.

The Facebook murder (Dutch: Facebookmoord) is a term coined by Dutch media for the murder of 15-year-old Winsie Hau on 14 January 2012 by the then 14-year-old Jinhua K. in Arnhem, the Netherlands.[1] Hau's father was also injured in the attack. The case was given this name because the motive lay in the escalation of a teenage argument on the social media and social networking service Facebook.[2][3]

Events

Winsie 'Joyce' Hau[note 1] and 16-year-old Polly W.[note 2] were best friends until they had a falling out in October 2011 during a birthday party at a pool hall in Arnhem.[6] Over the following weeks, the girls continued to argue online until Hau made remarks on Facebook on supposed promiscuous behaviour by her opponent. This resulted in Polly W. asking her friend, the 17-year-old Wesley C. from Rotterdam, to deal with the situation, who then contracted Jinhua K. from Capelle aan den IJssel to "punish" Hau.

On 14 January 2012, Jinhua K. went to Hau's residence in Arnhem, armed with a knife. He rang the doorbell and stabbed Hau repeatedly in the face and neck when she answered the door. Her father, 49-year-old Chun Nam Hau, attempted to intervene and sustained knife wounds to his face and arms. Hau died of her injuries in hospital several days later.[7]

Verdict

Jinhua K. was sentenced to a year in juvenile detention and three years in judicial involuntary commitment, of which one year was conditional.[7]

Wesley C. and Polly K. were both sentenced to two years in juvenile detention and judicial involuntary commitment, the maximum sentence possible under Dutch criminal law for juveniles, for conspiring to commit and purposely contributing to the murder. The public prosecutor asked to have the two tried as adults due to the severity of the case, and demanded five years in prison and judicial involuntary commitment, but the court ruled against this.[8]

The public prosecutor appealed the verdict.[9] The appeal was during a non-public case in July and August 2013.[10] On 27 August 2013, the court of appeals upheld the earlier ruling.[11]

Aftermath

Jinhua K. had shown some improvements during his time in a mental health facility, though psychologists had noted that he was at a low to moderate risk of reoffending, citing examples of impulsive behaviour, lowered empathy and occasional lack of cooperation with behavioural interventions.

In April of 2017, Jinhua K. and an unidentified older man committed an armed robbery. The two posed as prospective buyers of expensive computer equipment, having contacted the victim through his online listing. While stealing the equipment, they threatened to shoot the victim, his girlfriend and their infant if they attempted to intervene. A few weeks later, the two men were arrested.

Hau's father expressed his lack of surprise at Jinhua K's reoffending, stating that "he is severely disturbed; that was evident from (Winsie's) murder".[12]

In 2017, the Facebook murder was adapted by Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA for the episode Unlike of the crime drama television series Van God Los.[13][14]

On 8 July 2023, the Australian true crime podcast Casefile detailed the case of Winsie Hau in their 254th episode.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Born in Hong Kong, Hau's given name was Winsie and the name 'Joyce' was the English alias she had started using in secondary school.[4][5]
  2. ^ Due to the right to privacy, media in the Netherlands routinely withhold the identity of people charged or convicted of a crime and often substitute initials for names.

References

  1. ^ "OM eist 1 jaar cel en tbs voor Facebookmoord" [Public Prosecution Service demands 1 year in prison and judicial involuntary commitment for Facebook murder] (in Dutch). RTL Nieuws. 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Onbenullige tienerruzie op Facebook leidde tot moord" [Trivial teenage Facebook argument led to murder]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ Bartelsman, Mirjam (27 October 2012). ""Als je een moord pleegt, ben je cool"" ["If you commit a murder, you're cool"] (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  4. ^ Rooij, Leen de (2012). "Ter herinnering aan Winsie ('Joyce') Hau" [In memory of Winsie ('Joyce') Hau]. Dvvbi.nl (in Dutch). Damvereniging VBI Huissen. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Ter herinnering aan Winsie" [In memory of Winsie] (PDF). Damclubctd.nl (in Dutch). Damclub CTD Arnhem. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  6. ^ Arts, Harry (17 April 2012). "Moord op Winsie uit Arnhem na ruzie in poolcentrum" [Murder of Winsie from Arnhem after argument in pool hall]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Arnhem. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b Zantingh, Peter (3 September 2012). "Jinhua K. krijgt maximale straf voor Facebookmoord" [Jinhua K. receives maximum sentence for Facebook murder]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  8. ^ Remie, Mirjam (12 November 2012). "Opdrachtgevers Facebookmoord veroordeeld volgens jeugdstrafrecht" [Orderers of Facebook murder convicted under juvenile criminal law]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ^ Coevert, Annemarie (26 November 2012). "OM in hoger beroep tegen uitspraak Facebookmoord" [Public Prosecution Service appeals Facebook murder ruling]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Hoger beroep Facebookmoord niet openbaar" [Facebook murder appeal non-public] (in Dutch). NU.nl. 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Weer jeugdstraffen in Facebookmoord" [Juvenile sentences again in Facebook murder] (in Dutch). NU.nl. 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b Szymanska, Paulina (8 July 2023). "Case 254: Winsie Hau - Casefile True Crime". Casefilepodcast.com. Casefile: True Crime Podcast. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Kan facebooken leiden tot je dood? - Van God Los" [Can Facebooking lead to your death? - Van God Los]. Bnnvara.nl (in Dutch). BNNVARA. 21 October 2017. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  14. ^ Schuil, Harold (23 October 2017). "Facebookmoord op Winsie Hau nagespeeld in 'Van God Los'" [Facebook murder of Winsie Hau reenacted in 'Van God Los']. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Arnhem. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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