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foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you
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need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for
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a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
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[Music] thank you shortly before 3pm on Saturday January 14 2012 the doorbell rang at the Howe
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family home 49 year old Chun Nam answered it standing on his doorstep was a teenage
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boy whom Chun Nam didn't recognize it seemed reasonable to assume he had come to see one of Chun nam's two
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children when asked who he was looking for the boy explained that he wanted to speak to
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Vinci Vinci was Chun nam's 15 year old daughter Chun Nam called for Vinci who appeared
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at the top of their staircase she said she would speak with the boy Chun Nam retreated to the kitchen to
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prepare dinner leaving Vinci and her male guest alone moments later Chun Nam heard Vincy cry
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out in pain and he rushed back into the foyer he was immediately struck in the face
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with a knife leaving a bleeding gash across his right cheek Chun Nam raised his hands for protection
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while simultaneously trying to fight off his assailant the commotion alerted Chun nam's 12 year
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old son who rushed in to find his father grappling with the teenage boy holding a
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knife the teen managed to stab Chun Nam several more times in the face head and arms before flaying out the front door
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lying nearby at the base of the stairs was Vinci her face was covered in blood foreign
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[Music] she was a popular Secondary School student with an active social life into
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many friends in her Spare Time Vinci visited herself with a variety of hobbies including
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dancing for a street crew learning piano and playing chess Vincy had adopted the Western name Joyce
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but her family still referred to her by her Chinese Heritage name Vinci while she Drew friends from diverse
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circles Vincy mostly gravitated towards other teenagers of Chinese descent like her
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reports of the attack on Vinci and her father spread quickly online many of Vinci's friends learned of her
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ordeal through social media as Vinci and Chun Nam were rushed to hospital police worked swiftly to track
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down their attacker Vinci's brother was able to provide a description several of the Howe family's neighbors
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had seen the blood-soaked teen fleeing the area within two hours of the attack police
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tracked the boy down to a street north of where the house lived he was hiding in some bushes and refused
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to give himself up the police fired a single gunshot into the air as a warning prompting the teen
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to surrender the offender was a 14 year old from Capel and air isil about two hours West
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of varnum as he was a miner at the time he has never been fully publicly identified
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in reports he was only referred to as yinwa k yinwa had been kicked out of school five
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months earlier and already had a criminal record for two property offenses investigators determined that yinwa and
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DaVinci Hower were not friends but they were superficially acquainted they shared the same Social Circles and
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were known to have attended at least one Gathering Together months earlier a photograph taken at this party showed
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yinwa pulling a funny face two girls stood on either side of him one was Vinci Howe
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inwa eventually confessed to stabbing Vincy and her father it took a while longer to establish why
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inwa finally admitted that the attack wasn't his idea he had been recruited to kill Vincy by a
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17 year old reported as Wesley C Wesley was also Chinese Dutch and lived in Rotterdam
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when interviewed Wesley denied knowing yinwa or having any involvement in the attack
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in all neither yinwa nor Wesley were particularly helpful to the police investigators combed through the two
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boys social media hoping to establish a connection between them they eventually came across a
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conversation between the pair on the Telecommunications app Skype the day before Vinci and her father were
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attacked Wesley and yinwa had exchanged a series of messages Wesley told yinwa tomorrow you will do
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it yinwa responded okay man is good Wesley then provided yinwa with specific instructions on how to carry out the
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stabbing before stating you have the address you know where to be she has piano lessons at 2PM so you
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have to go at 3 pm [Music] responded okay if her parents are home should I take them with me
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Wesley's final message read yes that's okay recovered from his injuries and was released from hospital
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but his daughter was in a dire state Vinci had sustained several deep stab wounds to her face and neck
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five days after the attack she died the next day 600 mourners marched through the city silently alongside of
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Vinci's family in a show of support the route took them past their house home where a large collection of flowers
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and soft toys had been placed in honor of Vinci at the end of the March a representative
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of the Howe family thanked the crowd Vince's murder was described by her loved ones as incomprehensible
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they asked how could boys aged 14 and 17 without any relation to finzi commit such a
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heinous act on an innocent and defenseless 15 year old girl what could be the motive
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the family also made it clear that in these circumstances they viewed a Dutch punishment for juveniles as inadequate
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they called for yinwar and Wesley to be tried as adults stating that anyone who could commit such a bloody and
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premeditated act of violence was no longer a child the following weekend Vinci's friends
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held a small gathering of Their Own they let Chinese lanterns and released them into the night sky
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one of the attendees filmed part of the service the footage captured Vinci's 16 year old
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best friend Polly saying goodbye to Vinci but it was the tone of her voice that stood out
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instead of speaking with sadness Polly sounded noticeably gleeful [Music] on a November night eight weeks before
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finzy Howe was attacked she attended a party at a local pool center with her best friend Polly
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during the course of the evening Vinci became increasingly irritated at Polly's Behavior
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she felt Polly was being flirtatious and conceded with her new boyfriend Wesley [Music]
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Vincy vented about this to some of the other girls in her Friendship Circle when Polly caught wind of Vince's
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complaints an argument broke out between them everyone at the party saw the fight
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it started with the pair shouting and swearing at each other before turning physical
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eventually the two girls were pulled apart and they went their separate ways Days Later Polly posted something on her
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Facebook page that Vincy took issue with when Vincy commented oh my God how can you be
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Polly didn't respond to Vince's comment though one of their mutual friends replied
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Vincy you have to be careful how you talk and you better learn from your mistakes
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another friend wrote make Vincy stop because otherwise something serious will happen
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[Music] while Polly didn't display any animosity towards Vinci online offline she was
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seething although their friendship group was divided many ultimately took police side
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she told her boyfriend Wesley that she hated Vincy and wanted her out of her life
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despite having only just started dating Polly a few weeks prior Wesley threw his
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support behind her he encouraged his girlfriend Zango a week after the party Polly and Wesley
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composed a threatening text message which they sent to Vinci via Wesley's mobile phone
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Vince's reply to Wesley's text further enraged Polly with the conflict escalating Vince's
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mother called Polly's mother to address the issue they discussed Polly's Behavior but
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their conversation had no impact on the conflict Polly's anger soon reached boiling point
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she informed her boyfriend that she wanted Vincy gone for good wisely suggested they find someone who
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could kill Vincy on their behalf the following weekend Wesley and Polly went to a party in Arnhem
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Polly spoke openly of how she wanted Vincy dad but none of the party goers wanted to confront her about it
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if they did it could ruin the night so they brushed their concerns off refusing to take Paulie's threat
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seriously to keep the pace they made sure not to invite Vincy to the party she showed up anyway
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Polly was Furious she confronted Vincy called her derogatory names pushed her and yelled
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I'll kill you and I'll kill your family Vincy was in tears she seemed to genuinely shocked at the way her former
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best friend was now behaving towards her worse still most of the pair's mutual friends continued to side with Polly
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despite her increasingly volatile Behavior they were more upset that Vincy had ruined the Party by attending
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in the days that followed Polly stepped up her campaign against Vinci almost daily she bombarded her with
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death threats via text messages and social media Vincy spent most of her time on the
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computer in her room trying to seem unaffected and defiant in retorts she sent back to Polly
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in reality Vinci was growing increasingly fearful that Polly might follow through on her threats
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but none of the pair's friends shared her concerns one later spoke to Dutch current affairs
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program newsure saying that she and everyone else in their friendship group thought that police threats against Da
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Vinci had been empty Polly was known for having an explosive personality and aggressive style of
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speaking even Vinci's parents had dismissed the issue assuming it was just typical
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teenage bickering that was being blown out of proportion Vinci's father Chun Nam told nuzur that
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he believed the feud would fizzle out and Vincy and Polly would become friends again
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in actuality Polly had started hatching her revenge less than a month after the fight began
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her boyfriend Wesley knew of a 14 year old named yinwa who was known to carry a knife
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Wesley was confident that yinwa would do almost anything to gain his favor he was right
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when asked yinwa agreed to kill Vinci Howe [Music] just over two weeks later on Christmas
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Day Polly and Wesley met up with the yinwar at a snack bar in a village south of Rotterdam
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there the trio began planning Vince's murder yinwa had attempted to recruit others to
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participate in the slaughter but hadn't found anyone willing to commit he resolved that he would carry out the
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murder himself Polly promised to pay yinwa while the final amount offered for the
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killing has never been confirmed it was believed that it was somewhere between 50 to 100 euros around 70 to 150
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Australian dollars Wesley also promised he would shout yinwa drinks whenever they attended the
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same parties Wesley and yinwa kept in touch over the next few days either in person by phone
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or online as they ironed out the details Polly was either present for or aware of
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all these interactions at first it was decided that yinwa would kill Vinci within the next few days
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however they decided to put their plans on hold until the new year a week later on Friday January 6 2012
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Wesley handed yinwa a piece of paper honored Polly had written the Howe family's address along with specific
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directions on how to get to the home via public transport she'd even provided a description of the
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cartoon character decals on the glass next to Vince's front door and the paint Flex on the pavement in front
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one week later Polly called one of Vince's classmates to find out what time Vincy would be home from school that day
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Wesley was present when his girlfriend made the call and passed the details on to yinwa
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yinwa was already in arnum waiting on Vinci straight hours passed but vincey never appeared
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frustrated yinwa gave up and left upon discovering that Vinci had not been killed as planned Polly was Furious
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she insisted that Wesley contacted yinwa to organize another date for the murder
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at about nine the following evening Wesley messaged yinwa via Skype he confirmed that Vinci's parents would
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be acceptable collateral damage and a set 3pm as the time of the attack Polly stood over her boyfriend as he
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typed tomorrow you will do it on the afternoon of Saturday January 14 yinwa traveled back to Vinci's house
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he spoke to Wesley several times over the phone during the 90-minute journey Wesley was with Polly and the two
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provided yinwa with encouragement to follow through with the plan it was nearing 3 P.M when yinwa reached
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the three-story red brick terraced house belonging to the Howe family the cartoon stickers on the window
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alongside the blue front door and the white paint splattered on the pavement confirmed that yinwa was at the right
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place he approached the door and was led inside before attacking Vincy when her father attempted to step in
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yinwa stabbed him too after Polly's involvement in Vince's murder was established she was arrested
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as with the yinwar and Wesley Paulie was only referred to publicly by her first name and a last initial Polly w
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yinwa was charged with Vinci Howe's murder and the attempted manslaughter of her father Chun Nam hao
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Polly and Wesley were both charged with intentional incitement to murder all three teens were held in juvenile
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detention while they awaited trial [Music] yinwa K was the first of the three accused to be tried
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his court proceedings began in August 2012 seven months after Vinci's murder in the Netherlands cases against miners
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are usually heard behind closed doors however in yinwa's case the panel of three judges made the rare decision to
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conduct an open hearing they determined that the public interest outweighed yinwa's individual rights
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in relation to Vinci's murder inwa pleaded Not Guilty by reason of diminished responsibility
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his defense Council relied on two expert psychological reports a specialist to Child and Adolescent
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psychologist concluded that yinwa suffered from a serious behavioral disorder and Psychopathic traits
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the second report submitted by a panel of clinical psychologists stated that yinwa placed extreme importance on
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fitting in with his peers this meant he didn't even consider refusing Polly and Wesley's demands
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in yinwa's mind killing Vinci was a guaranteed path to social acceptance both reports concluded that yinwa should
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be regarded as having diminished responsibility on account of his defective mental emotional and Social
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Development the defense Council also attempted to limit yinwa's responsibility by citing
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the extreme external pressure placed on him by Polly and Wesley the defense claimed that Polly and
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Wesley threatened to kill yinwa's parents if he did not do as they instructed the court found no evidence to support
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these allegations and concluded that yinwa was a willing participant in the attacks
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they were also satisfied that yinwa's actions were premeditated and not a spur-of-the-moment decision made while
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yinwa was in a quote blacked out State as his lawyers had suggested in while also pleaded not guilty to the
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attempted manslaughter of Chun Nam how he maintained that he'd only defended himself from Chun Nam who attacked him
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the court also rejected this claim as yinwa instigated the violent altercation with the Chun Nam and consciously chose
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to keep hold of his knife as he did so the Skype correspondence between yinwar and Wesley the day prior to the attack
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only further discredited yinwa's claims he had specifically asked if he should also kill Vinci's parents if they
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interfered and was told to do so [Music] in his victim impact statement Chun Nam
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Howe spoke of how his life had turned into hell since the murder of his daughter
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he also bore the physical scars of his life or death struggle with the Vinci's killer
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Chun Nam implored the court to find yinwa guilty and to sentence him as an adult rather than a juvenile
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Vince's Mother wasn't home at the time her daughter was set upon and has lived with that guilt ever since
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let suspects of this horrific act to get their deserved punishment she told the court
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the judges delivered their verdict two weeks later yinwa K was found guilty for both the
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murder of Vinci Howe and the attempted manslaughter of Chun Nam how as yinwa was only 14 when he committed
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these crimes Dutch laws for juvenile offenders applied these laws focused strongly on
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Rehabilitation rather than punishment as such yinwa was sentenced to one year in juvenile detention and a further
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three years in a TBS TBS is a criminal psychiatric facility where offenders receive psychological
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and psychiatric counseling to help reintegrate them into society this sentence was the maximum term
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permitted under Dutch law at the time Chun Nam Hao called yinwa's punishment offensive and urged politicians to
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consider revising the sentencing laws for exceptional cases such as this poly W and Wesley C both pleaded not
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guilty to intentionally inciting yinwa to murder Vinci through her lawyer Polly claimed that
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her wish for Vinci to die was not meant to be taken literally she said it was just a turn of phrase
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that was common in Chinese culture however no evidence was provided to prove this
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two psychological reports were submitted with experts determining that Polly suffered from a delay in social
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emotional development identity problems and a behavioral disorder Polly flatly denied threatening or
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incentivizing yinwa to kill Vinci the court rejected these arguments finding ample evidence that Polly
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intended for Vinci to be killed Wesley's defense argued there was no evidence that messages sent from
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Wesley's phone and social media were actually written by Wesley they claimed that Polly was responsible
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for them instead Wesley was depicted as a Love Struck teen who allowed Polly to have complete
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control over him Wesley claimed that he hadn't wanted Vinci dead he just wanted to scare her
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two psychological reports suggested that Wesley functioned at the intellectual and emotional level of an 11 year old
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they also indicated that Wesley had an over-dependence and attachment to his mother which transferred to poly once
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they started dating the court determined that there was close and conscious collaboration
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between poly and Wesley in provoking Vince's murder both teens were found to guilty
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the court stated that it was shocking and hard to comprehend that a seemingly trivial quarrel between two young girls
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could turn a friendship into deep hatred and eventually lead to murder the prosecution called for both Polly
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and Wesley to be sentenced as adults this was permissible in exceptional cases where juvenile offenders were at
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least 16 years old the court acknowledged the seriousness of the offenses and the Indescribable
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impact that Vince's murder had on her family and the community however given Polly and Wesley's delayed
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emotional and intellectual development the court determined that their sentence should focus primarily on Rehabilitation
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rather than retaliation Paulie and Wesley were sentenced to two years in juvenile detention the maximum
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permissible under Dutch juvenile sentencing laws before they were eligible to be released
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back into society the pair would be required to spend a time in a TBS Polly would face three years in the TBS
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and Wesley too the public prosecutor appealed these sentences pushing again for Polly and
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Wesley to be sentenced as adults both appeals were rejected Wesley C was released in February 2017.
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a probation report explained that Wesley's emotional immaturity and attachment issues were treated through
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Psychotherapy and behavioral interventions the report also indicated that Wesley's
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socio-emotional disadvantages had been rectified and that his self-insight had dramatically improved
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his risk of recidivism was judged to be low poly W was released two weeks later Polly's probation report indicated that
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she no longer suffered from a conduct or identity disorder and no personality disorder had developed
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her risk of recidivism was judged to be low as long as she continued counseling as a condition of their release neither
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poly nor Wesley were permitted to contact each other both were required to continue
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psychological counseling and Report regularly to authorities during their probation period
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during this time yinwa K applied for release the court determined that although he
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had undergone positive development a few incidents had Arisen during his Rehabilitation where he made
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inappropriate choices concerns remained as to yinwa's ability to appropriately deal with frustrations
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accordingly He was ordered to remain in TBS yinwa submitted a second application
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seven months later his risk of recurrence was noted as low to moderate primarily in relation to his
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impulsive behavior lack of empathy and insufficient cooperation with certain TBS interventions
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however the court found that yinwar exhibited a less risky Behavior had demonstrated an ability to withstand
00:29:07
disappointments and manage responsibilities and showed a willingness to seek help
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the court determined that he no longer posed a serious risk of violent crime rejecting the public Prosecutor's
00:29:23
request to further extend yinwa's custody Arrangements the court approved yinwa's release in September 2017
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subject to stringent conditions inwa was required to regularly report to Probation Services refrain from drug and
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alcohol use follow a stricter daily routine underground authorities access to his social media accounts and
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finances in April of the following year an advertisement appeared online for the
00:29:59
sale of several expensive pieces of computer equipment the seller whom casefile will refer to
00:30:06
as Mark was contacted by an interested buyer two men arrived at Mark's house that
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evening Mark told the Telegraph newspaper that he opened the door to two neat looking
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and friendly men of East Asian appearance presumably her father and son the two men collected the computer
00:30:28
equipment instead of handing over the agreed 4 000 Euros as payment the order of the men
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pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Mark's head the younger man ordered mark under his
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knees and instructed him to count to 60 before moving he threatened to shoot mark his
00:30:49
girlfriend and their baby if Mark attempted anything as the men were leaving after Mark was certain they had driven
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away he called the police it took the police a few weeks before they had the two armed robbers in
00:31:05
custody the younger one was yinwa K news of yinwa's violent reoffending brought pain to Chun Nam how who was
00:31:18
still coming to terms with the loss of his daughter he told the telegraph I am not at all surprised that yinwa has
00:31:27
made a mistake again he is severely Disturbed that was evident from the murder Chun Nam further commented
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I like the idea that yinwar is now in jail I hope for myself and for society that yinwa stays inside forever
00:31:47
[Music] during the investigation into Vinci Howe's murder investigators examined
00:31:55
online and phone records of yinwa poly Wesley and their friends they soon realized that the murder plot
00:32:03
wasn't a well-kept secret between the three involved in fact many other youths were well
00:32:10
aware of it two hours before Vinci was attacked a friend of yinwas posted on Facebook
00:32:19
a girl is going to die at 3 pm today 19 minutes later at 1 23 the post received its first response
00:32:31
the user rode oh my God yet no one called the police the post remained up long after Vincy
00:32:42
and her father had been struck one user responded to the post about an hour and a half after the attack riding
00:32:51
whoa I just saw it on the newsman damn just over an hour after that another user responded to the post with a
00:33:00
warning that read watch out the police also have Facebook [Music] many more of Polly and Vinci's friends
00:33:10
were aware of the plot since its Inception one of Vince's friends told a news year
00:33:19
if everyone who knew about it who should have reported something that didn't then I think that 60 people should be
00:33:26
arrested for being complicit you know because everyone knew about it everyone knew about it
00:33:35
[Music] ultimately no one who remained silent while knowing that Vincy was in danger
00:33:42
was charged with any crimes [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music]