Dutch court won't extradite American murder suspect over potential death sentence

The Groningen court ruled against extraditing the American Kendra Leigh W. to the United States, where she is wanted for the murder of her ex-husband.

According to the court, there is too much uncertainty about whether the woman will face the death penalty if she is returned to the state of South Carolina, RTV Noord reports.

W. is suspected of murdering her 29-year-old ex-husband, Connor Lloyd, four years ago. He was shot dead in his driveway in the city of Lyman.

The woman was arrested at the asylum registration center in Ter Apel in April of this year, where she applied for asylum with her 4-year-old daughter using her real name. She was staying in the asylum shelter for over three weeks before the Dutch authorities realized she was wanted for murder.

The American authorities had asked the Netherlands to extradite the woman, but the Groningen court rejected that request on Monday.

The prosecutor previously argued that there is no realistic chance that the woman would receive the death penalty if she is returned to the United States. But after reviewing the legislation in the state of South Carolina and previous judicial decisions, the Groningen court concluded that there are too many unanswered questions.

“Further information is needed from the American authorities, which must demonstrate that the death penalty will not be imposed on the person requested. The court allows the public prosecutor, through the Ministry of Justice and Security, to request this additional information,” the court ruled.

The court will review the extradition request once this information has been obtained. It is unclear when this will happen.

Source: nltimes.nl, Staff, August 19, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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