Case of Munsterkerkhof (original) (raw)

The alleged manslaughter of 59 year old Aletta Francina van Rooijen-Emmelot took place on the night of 31 May 1883. A group of students, members of the student society Utrechtsch Studenten Corps then located at Munsterkerkhof, nowadays Domplein, were alleged to have abused Van Rooijen-Emmelot and her husband resulting in her death six days later. Six law students were arrested after Aletta's husband claimed her death was the result of the beatings by the students six days before. The affair, or 'The Case of Munsterkerkhof' as it became known in the local and national newspapers brought to light the citizens' displeasure with the preferential treatment students received in judicial matters at that time, especially after the court ruling in February 1884.