Man jailed for killing neighbour during suicide attempt

A man who tried to gas himself, only to kill his upstairs neighbour instead, has been jailed for 10 years by judges in Maastricht.

Johannes V, 50, caused an explosion in the village of Berg aan de Maas almost a year ago by opening the gas tap at his home. He had twice previously tried to kill himself and was seriously injured in the March explosion.

V was aware that what he was doing was dangerous and that someone else was in the building, judges said in their ruling.

However, although he could have been jailed for up to 30 years for the killing and endangering the life of emergency service workers, judges said he should serve 10 years instead.

The sentence was reduced because he suffered from depression and was not entirely responsible for his actions.