The Facebook murder
A dispute on the social network Facebook was actually the trigger for a murder. But how could it have come to this? On November 19, 2011, close friends Winsie Hau and Polly attended a party together, where they suddenly got into a heated argument. Fifteen-year-old Winsie called her 16-year-old friend Polly a slut because she had already had sex with several boys. From that day on, the once close friendship between the two girls turned into a deep hatred, which was now being played out on Facebook. Winsie regularly exposed Polly there with the words: “Oh my God, how slutty can you be?” Polly was furious and wanted to nip the rumors spread by Winsie in the bud. Polly had found a steady boyfriend in 17-year-old Wesley, who was almost completely devoted to her. Together, they hatched a murder plot to get Winsie out of the way for good. They hired 14-year-old Jinhua K. from near Rotterdam as a hitman to kill Winsie for 150 euros and a few drinks, which he did on January 14, 2012. On that day, he rang the doorbell at Winsie’s parents’ house in Arnhem. Her father, suspecting nothing, opened the door and let him in. When Winsie came down the stairs, Jinhua simply stabbed her, and she collapsed, covered in blood. Her father rushed to her aid, injuring Jinhua’s face and hands. Winsie died in the hospital after five days. Jinhua, who already had a criminal record, was arrested. According to expert opinion, he was only partially accountable and mentally disturbed. He had acted on behalf of the young lovers and was sentenced by the court in Arnhem in September 2012 to one year in juvenile prison and three years of compulsory therapy in an institution for offenders for murder and attempted manslaughter. Polly and Wesley, who went their separate ways after the murder and blamed each other, were sentenced to two years in prison and subsequent three-year therapy in a psychiatric clinic for incitement to murder. This was the maximum sentence for juvenile offenders in the Netherlands. Due to the young age of the perpetrators and the banal reason behind the murder—a ridiculous quarrel between teenagers—the “Facebook murder” caused a worldwide sensation.
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