Groningen Court Finds No Proven Link Between Assault and Leek Man’s Death

Overview

• A 20-year-old from Leek was convicted of striking 52-year-old Bert Suurd and received a 40-hour community-service sentence.
• The court accepted a possible indirect role of stress but ruled it unreasonable to attribute the death to the defendant given other potential stressors.
• Medical investigation did not produce a definitive single cause of death, though a significant heart abnormality was documented.
• Prosecutors argued the assault triggered a fatal heart attack and sought a conditional four-month prison term plus 200 hours of community service.
• The court based the assault finding on an injury report and phone data, and it noted the victim’s heart-rate peak occurred minutes after the confrontation.