An 86-year-old man from Oud-Alblas near Dordrecht has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, six of them suspended, for attempting to strangle his wife of almost 60 years.

After serving his jail term, Jan H will be placed in a nursing home or care facility with a psychiatric ward. He is also banned from having any contact with his wife, who told the court she never wants to see him again.

H admitted grabbing his wife by the throat in January. He told police he wanted to kill her because he no longer saw a reason to live and did not want to leave her behind. In court two weeks ago, he said he no longer knew why he had acted as he did.

The woman said she was attacked while she slept, and after managing to push her husband away, fled to the kitchen. There, he allegedly grabbed her by the throat again before taking hold of two knives.

Experts said H suffers from depression and may be in the early stages of dementia.

Another death

In a separate case, police in Drenthe are investigating the death of a 72-year-old woman whose body was found in the Noord-Willemskanaal in Tynaarlo in Drenthe on Monday.

The woman, from Assen, had been reported missing. A man aged 80, also from Assen, has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in her death and is being questioned in custody under full restrictions.

Police said they are treating the case as a crime, but it is not yet clear how the woman died. Officers are speaking to local residents, carrying out forensic tests and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.