HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

Widow of ‘perfect’ dad stabbed to death by schizophrenic on doorstep calls for probe into NHS failings which led to her husband’s murder

Jeroen Ensink had been a dad for just 11 days when he was brutally killed on his way to post letters announcing the birth of his baby girl

Brittany Vonow

Published: 10:47, 15 Oct 2016
Updated: 10:51, 15 Oct 2016

A WIDOW whose husband was violently stabbed to death by a mentally ill man just days after their baby girl was born has called for an inquest into his death.

New dad Jeroen Ensink was stabbed to death by Femi Nandap while on his way to deliver cards announcing the birth of his precious baby daughter, Fleur, with his family now calling for a full investigation into the failings of the mental health and legal systems.

Nadja Ensink with her husband Dr Jeroen Ensink, with the mother now calling for questions to be answered over the stabbing death of her husbandCredit: PA:Press Association

Jeroen's wife, Nadja Ensink-Teich, has now been left to raise their baby girl without her husband, bravely standing up for answers.

She told the : "Jeroen's death did not need to happen.

"In my opinion, it could have been prevented. He (Nandap) clearly needed help. Why did he not get it?"

Nadja Ensink told the Old Bailey that her life had been changed forever after her husband was killedCredit: PA:Press Association

Mentally-ill Femi Nandap who has admitted at the Old Bailey stabbing renowned academic, Dr Jeroen Ensink, to death on his doorstep 11 days after he had become a fatherCredit: PA:Press Association

She said there were "lots of missed chances" to help the young man who violently attacked her 41-year-old husband just days after Christmas last year, leaving the new father's blood staining the pavement and the cards he was about to post.

Nandap had been facing charges of having a knife and assaulting a police officer, with the charges dropped just six days before the killing due to "insufficient evidence".

Questions were also raised over why Nandap, who had a history of mental illness and psychosis triggered by heavy cannabis use, had not been prosecuted for breaching his bail conditions by going to Nigeria.

The 37-year-old said her husband, who was an internationally respected scientist, had often spoken about the provisions made for mental health patients and the problems that society faced if the system broke down.

She said: "My husband was passionate about taking responsibility for your actions and saying sorry if you make a mistake. He tried to live his life by that and I think others should, too."

Nandap, 23 has now been given an indefinite hospital order after admitting to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Nadja bravely faced the man who claimed her husband's life in court earlier this week, telling the Old Bailey that she missed the "what could have been".

She said: "I will miss the life I was supposed to have.

"Not only was the love of my life taken from me, but with him also all of our hopes and dreams."

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