Death of student in Amsterdam unlawful, coroner says

A coroner has concluded the death of a student who was stabbed to death on a trip to Amsterdam was unlawful.

Danny Castledine, 22, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, sustained 44 wounds near the Singel canal in the early hours of 1 June 2022 after stopping in the city with a friend on the way to a music festival in Belgium.

A Belgian national, referred to as Nongo B, was jailed for 14 years after he was found guilty of manslaughter after a trial in a Dutch court in January.

Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley told Nottingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday: "I find the medical cause of death to be multiple stab wounds."

Det Con Gina Farrell, of Nottinghamshire Police, told the hearing Mr Castledine and his friend became separated after 01:00.

"Danny walked around the city centre thereafter, and he appeared to have met the person we call the defendant between 1:40am and 2:12am," she said.

"Danny walked with the defendant into where there appears to be a clash between Danny and the defendant.

"It is believed this is where he carried out the attack before he dragged him down the stairs to the basement flat.

"One of the hypotheses that came up is that the defendant attempted to rob Danny, but there was no evidence to substantiate that."

The court was told Mr Castledine's body was discovered by a pedestrian at the bottom of the steps at about 03:30.

Mr Hartley said Mr Castledine was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering "defensive injuries" and "severe blood loss" with a stab wound to his neck.

The post-mortem examination also said the other stab wounds "may have contributed to death through blood loss", the coroner told the court.

Det Con Farrell told the hearing a man was found in the south of Amsterdam who was "disorientated" and "covered in blood", and was arrested and taken to a police station.

She said police tested the blood on the man's clothing, which matched Mr Castledine's blood.

An appeal has been lodged which could lead to a future retrial, she added.

Mr Castledine's sister Chloe told the inquest her brother was just "happy-go-lucky, wanting to enjoy his life".

"It's a shame his life ended in the way it did in a foreign country because he loved to travel," she said.

"Everyone loved him, no-one had a bad word to say about him. He trusted everyone and assumed everyone was out for a good time like he was."

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