The widow of an academic stabbed to death outside his home has raised more than £25,000 in a crowdfunding campaign to get “justice for my family and husband”.
Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, was knifed on his doorstep in Hilldrop Crescent, Holloway, in December 2015 as he went to post letters announcing the birth of his daughter Fleur, who was just 11 days old.
His killer Femi Nandap, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and was detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital.
The court had heard that Nandap had previously been arrested in Belsize Park in May 2015 in possession of a 30cm kitchen knife. But the charges against him were dropped six days before he killed Dr Ensink, a senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Last week, his widow Nadja Ensink-Teich, 38, launched a crowdfunding page to cover her legal costs as a pre-inquest hearing outlined that the inquiry will focus on police and mental health authorities.
The hearing at St Pancras Coroner’s Court last week ruled Article Two of the European Convention on Human Rights will be engaged.
This means the probe will be wider than just the circumstances of Mr Ensink’s death.
St Pancras Coroner Mary Hassell said: “What I would like to do is to look at the events leading up to Mr Nandap being in the place that he was, at the time that he was, with a knife, and then acting the way he did.
“I think there is an exploration to be had of police actions. There is also an exploration to be had of the actions of various mental healthcare professionals.”
The inquest is expected to begin on November 13.
But Mrs Ensink-Teich says she has been denied legal aid to have her own representation at the hearing so has set up the crowdfunding page to raise £40,000 towards her costs.
She said on the page: “I am making a heartfelt plea to you to help us achieve this target, not only in the name of my late husband Jeroen, or on behalf of our daughter Fleur, who will never know her father, but also to hold those responsible to account and prevent such tragedy affecting others.”
She added: “Police and CPS knew, or ought to have known, that Nandap posed a real and immediate risk to others and thus missed the chance to protect the public.
“A number of serious and significant concerns have been identified which will now be investigated at a Coroner’s Article 2 Inquest. This is the process by which we determine who was responsible for the failings that occurred, and who should take responsibility.
“I hope that we will finally get the answers we have been waiting for and that this can result in effective changes in the system and reduce the number of mental health homicides.”
She adds: “Unfortunately, I have been refused Legal Aid. Unsurprisingly, the police and CPS will be legally represented, paid for by the taxpayer.. [...] By denying me legal representation, I won’t be able to effectively participate in the investigation into the death of my husband and the father of my daughter. Consequently our interests won’t be adequately presented.”
Visit her crowdfunding page here.
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