Fouad L, who murdered his neighbour and her daughter and went on to kill a lecturer at the Erasmus teaching hospital in September 2023, was “ told to kill by a computer in his head”, a court was told on Monday.

The hearing, the first time L has appeared in court, was a preparatory meeting ahead of the main trial which is due to be heard at the end of January.

Experts have already determined L is suffering from several mental problems and have advised he should be detained in a psychiatric prison after serving his main sentence. And the judge on Monday denied his lawyers’ request for another investigation into his mental state, saying there would be “no point”.

Monday’s hearing was attended by a great many friends and relatives of the victims, and some 150 colleagues of the murdered lecturer could follow the proceedings via a video link.

According to the public prosecutor, L “knew exactly that the plan he was hatching was a horrible plan.” “He was contemplating how many people he would kill, including children, over a period of months,”  he said.

The suspect acted out of revenge, the prosecutor said. His neighbour had reported him for noise nuisance and animal abuse, of which he was convicted.

He was also in conflict with Erasmus University where he studied medicine. The university delayed giving him his degree until he had consented to a psychological evaluation following warnings from the public prosecutor about his mental state.

L frequently vented his anger towards his neighbour and the university on social media, which was exacerbated by the fact he was being evicted from his home because he had not paid the rent for several months.

The main hearings in the case will start on January 27.