A rejected asylum seeker who killed his girlfriend and a police officer in the Groningen village of Baflo is taking his case to the supreme court, his lawyer announced on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Alasam S had his sentence slashed earlier this month from 28 to six years by an appeal court, which said he was suffering from an ‘acute psychotic breakdown’ at the time of the murders. The lower court had ruled the killing of his girlfriend was premeditated.

S, who comes from Benin, battered his girlfriend to death with a fire extinguisher and went on to shoot the police officer with his own gun after a struggle six days after he heard he was to be deported.

His appeal to the supreme court says that although the appeal court took his mental problems into account, they did not look at the role played by the antidepressive paroxetine which he was taking at the time.

The Groningen village of Baflo has a population of 1,800 and is described as a close-knit community.