A 74-year-old man from Limburg should be jailed for 14 years for killing his second wife, after earlier serving an eight year sentence for strangling his first, the public prosecution department has told judges in Maastricht.

The prosecutor says Wiel F, from the village of Grevenbicht, killed his wife and the family dog because he was embarrassed about the debts he had built up after years of living beyond his means.

He was found guilty of strangling his first wife in 1997 for a similar reason, broadcaster NOS reported.

‘Twenty-four years later, the situation repeated itself,’ the prosecutor said on Monday. ‘He did not seek help, but tried to hide the truth and ended up in the same trap as before.’

The prosecutor said F attacked his second wife after they watched a programme about bailiffs and she said she hoped they would never be waiting in front of her door. ‘That was the point at which something snapped,’ the prosecutor said. ‘He picked up her scarf and strangled her with it.’

The court will publish its ruling on April 15.