by Eliana Silver, Daily Mail
How tormented 17-year-old was granted ‘death wish’ – before doctor who gave her lethal injection was condemned by peers
In October 2023, Dutch doctor Menno Oosterhoff made a home visit to one of his patients. But unlike most of his work, his purpose that day was not to save a life, it was to end one.
His patient was 17-year-old Milou Verhoof, a rape survivor who had endured profound psychological trauma.
After years of unsuccessful treatment, she asked to be euthanised, and Mr Oosterhoff was the doctor who carried out her request.
Now, years later, Milou’s parents and Mr Oosterhoff are facing legal battles after 14 psychiatrists and doctors privately wrote to the Dutch public prosecutor asking to conduct a preliminary criminal investigation into Milou’s euthanasia.
They asked to examine the extent to which Milou’s parents, together with two psychiatrists, influenced the teenager in her choice for euthanasia, suggesting she was no longer mentally competent.
Her parents are now filing a disciplinary case, arguing the letter has seriously harmed them.
But behind the legal disputes is the story of a young girl whose life was defined by years of trauma.
Milou had once been described by her mother as a cheerful, sensitive girl who enjoyed a happy middle-class upbringing.