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Man used abortion drugs to murder girlfriend because baby was a boy
A man who used abortion drugs and other substances to brutally murder his pregnant girlfriend and baby boy in the Netherlands was sentenced to less than 16 years in prison.
Patricia de Oliveira Santos was from Brazil, and traveled to the Netherlands to visit her boyfriend, Dennis van E., who lived in the Netherlands.
During her last visit, she was very late in pregnancy and the baby was a boy, which reportedly infuriated van E.
He pressured her to have an abortion, and when she refused, he forced her to drink abortion pills and consume a fatal cocktail of drugs, which led to her death. She was between 32 and 37 weeks pregnant.
Van E. has been sentenced to less than 16 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend and preborn child.
Van E. was arrested in 2019 after Santos died. Neighbors told police that while van E. was a long-time resident, the woman found dead, who was later identified as Santos, had only arrived several days earlier.
"We only saw the woman a few weeks ago, but we had the impression that she had moved to live there," neighbor Leo Barbiers told the NL Times. "I think she was South American or something. If I ever heard Dennis call, he spoke in Dutch first and then switched to Papiamento."
By 2020, prosecutors were saying van E. had been attempting to pressure Santos into an abortion. Though van E. claimed it was Santos who wanted the abortion, and had attempted to have one multiple times in Brazil, prosecutors said text messages between the two proved otherwise.
Van E. repeatedly told her he did not want a boy, and told her to have an abortion over and over again while she was in Brazil. When she told him she didn't even have money for food, much less an abortion, he said he would only send her money if she went through with the abortion.
Santos' sister, Fabiana, said she had been afraid of van E., and confirmed he had been pressuring her into abortion, though the relationship didn't seem to initially be toxic.
"They've been together for three years," Fabiana said, adding that he regularly visited Brazil, and it was on one of these trips that Santos got pregnant. "He was always very polite with my mother and everyone at home."
He eventually asked Santos to spend time with him in the Netherlands, and bought her a plane ticket to travel to Europe on September 28, with a return ticket arranged for December. Fabiana said she heard from Santos daily at first, but then communication slowed.
"Things were changing," she said. "She even said he was very jealous, but did not say he was violent. I don't think he wanted the baby anymore."
Santos then pleaded with her sister to try to reason with van E.
"My sister said that her boyfriend changed, that he spoke aggressively to her and wanted her to abort the baby. She asked me to talk to him so that he would give up the idea of abortion," she recalled, and said she messaged him on WhatsApp. "He read my messages, but did not respond and blocked me. I started to get worried, but my sister texted me later saying that he had given up on the abortion and that everything was fine."
Yet on October 18, van E. messaged Fabiana and said Santos had died, having bled to death after an illegal abortion.
According to prosecutors, van E. forced Santos to drink abortion pills, and then take a cocktail of lethal drugs, including MDMA, cocaine, and alcohol.
This caused a uterine tear; Santos' baby died, and Santos herself hemorrhaged and bled to death. She was between 32 and 37 weeks pregnant.
In 2024, van E. was found guilty, with the court calling his actions "[c]ruel, unscrupulous and perverse."
The court confirmed that he ordered the abortion pills online, and let Santos and her baby bleed to death in his apartment. "Your plan was clear, the fetus had to die," the court said.
Van E. was sentenced to just 16 years in prison and a mandatory stay in a psychiatric facility afterward, but he appealed, claiming to have been asleep while Santos was dying.
This, prosecutors said, was impossible, and they pointed to signs of violence as further evidence. Even if she had taken the drugs herself, prosecutors said Santos would have been in "immense pain" — she had injuries to her face, and several of her teeth were found in her mouth and throat.
“The suspect let her bleed to death," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors agreed to a three-month reduction in sentence, making his total time in prison 15 years and nine months. The final verdict from the court will take place next month.
Homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women, including women who refuse to kill their preborn children at the demands of their abusive partners.
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·Man used abortion drugs to murder girlfriend because baby was a boy
A man who used abortion drugs and other substances to brutally murder his pregnant girlfriend and baby boy in the Netherlands was sentenced to less than 16 years in prison.
Patricia de Oliveira Santos was from Brazil, and traveled to the Netherlands to visit her boyfriend, Dennis van E., who lived in the Netherlands.
During her last visit, she was very late in pregnancy and the baby was a boy, which reportedly infuriated van E.
He pressured her to have an abortion, and when she refused, he forced her to drink abortion pills and consume a fatal cocktail of drugs, which led to her death. She was between 32 and 37 weeks pregnant.
Van E. has been sentenced to less than 16 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend and preborn child.
Van E. was arrested in 2019 after Santos died. Neighbors told police that while van E. was a long-time resident, the woman found dead, who was later identified as Santos, had only arrived several days earlier.
"We only saw the woman a few weeks ago, but we had the impression that she had moved to live there," neighbor Leo Barbiers told the NL Times. "I think she was South American or something. If I ever heard Dennis call, he spoke in Dutch first and then switched to Papiamento."
By 2020, prosecutors were saying van E. had been attempting to pressure Santos into an abortion. Though van E. claimed it was Santos who wanted the abortion, and had attempted to have one multiple times in Brazil, prosecutors said text messages between the two proved otherwise.
Van E. repeatedly told her he did not want a boy, and told her to have an abortion over and over again while she was in Brazil. When she told him she didn't even have money for food, much less an abortion, he said he would only send her money if she went through with the abortion.
Santos' sister, Fabiana, said she had been afraid of van E., and confirmed he had been pressuring her into abortion, though the relationship didn't seem to initially be toxic.
"They've been together for three years," Fabiana said, adding that he regularly visited Brazil, and it was on one of these trips that Santos got pregnant. "He was always very polite with my mother and everyone at home."
He eventually asked Santos to spend time with him in the Netherlands, and bought her a plane ticket to travel to Europe on September 28, with a return ticket arranged for December. Fabiana said she heard from Santos daily at first, but then communication slowed.
"Things were changing," she said. "She even said he was very jealous, but did not say he was violent. I don't think he wanted the baby anymore."
Santos then pleaded with her sister to try to reason with van E.
"My sister said that her boyfriend changed, that he spoke aggressively to her and wanted her to abort the baby. She asked me to talk to him so that he would give up the idea of abortion," she recalled, and said she messaged him on WhatsApp. "He read my messages, but did not respond and blocked me. I started to get worried, but my sister texted me later saying that he had given up on the abortion and that everything was fine."
Yet on October 18, van E. messaged Fabiana and said Santos had died, having bled to death after an illegal abortion.
According to prosecutors, van E. forced Santos to drink abortion pills, and then take a cocktail of lethal drugs, including MDMA, cocaine, and alcohol.
This caused a uterine tear; Santos' baby died, and Santos herself hemorrhaged and bled to death. She was between 32 and 37 weeks pregnant.
In 2024, van E. was found guilty, with the court calling his actions "[c]ruel, unscrupulous and perverse."
The court confirmed that he ordered the abortion pills online, and let Santos and her baby bleed to death in his apartment. "Your plan was clear, the fetus had to die," the court said.
Van E. was sentenced to just 16 years in prison and a mandatory stay in a psychiatric facility afterward, but he appealed, claiming to have been asleep while Santos was dying.
This, prosecutors said, was impossible, and they pointed to signs of violence as further evidence. Even if she had taken the drugs herself, prosecutors said Santos would have been in "immense pain" — she had injuries to her face, and several of her teeth were found in her mouth and throat.
“The suspect let her bleed to death," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors agreed to a three-month reduction in sentence, making his total time in prison 15 years and nine months. The final verdict from the court will take place next month.
Homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women, including women who refuse to kill their preborn children at the demands of their abusive partners.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Guest Column
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
Isabella Childs
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·