A British student was stabbed to death in Amsterdam, dragged and left at the bottom of steps belonging to a basement apartment, an inquest has heard.
Danny Castledine, 22, was attacked in the early hours of 1 June 2022, during a visit to the Dutch capital after travelling with a friend to a music festival in Belgium. His body was discovered by a passerby at the bottom of the steps at about 3.30am.
Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley concluded at Nottingham coroner’s court on Tuesday that Castledine’s death had been an unlawful killing.
He told the inquest, which was attended by Castledine’s parents and sister from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire: “I find the medical cause of death to be multiple stab wounds. I find that the most appropriate conclusion in this case is one of unlawful killing.”
A Belgian male, referred to as Nongo B, was handed a 14-year sentence for manslaughter in a Dutch court in January. Police found Castledine’s attacker in the south of Amsterdam, covered in blood in a disoriented state. After arresting him, police found a match with Castledine’s blood when they tested the blood on his clothing.
Det Con Gina Farrell of Nottinghamshire police told the hearing that Castledine became separated from his friend around 1am and came into contact with his murderer between 1.40am and 2.12am. “Danny walked with the defendant into where there appears to be a clash between Danny and the defendant,” Farrell said. “It is believed this is where he carried out the attack before he dragged him down the stairs to the basement flat.”
A hypothesis that Nongo B had attempted to rob Castledine was dismissed as there was no evidence, explained Farrell.
Hartley told the inquest that Castledine was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering “defensive injuries” and “severe blood loss” with a stab wound to his neck.
The postmortem examination also said the other stab wounds “may have contributed to death through blood loss”, the coroner told the court.
Castledine’s sister Chloe told the inquest: “He 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. All he wanted to do was go out and have a good time. 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.”
Castledine’s mother previously said in a statement released by police: “When Danny was alive, it frustrated me that he was so laid-back, but now I just think, I’m so glad he lived that life because he loved every minute of it.
“It was almost like he knew he had to pack everything into 22 years.”
