This became apparent today during a first pro forma hearing in the case of Domingo O., the suspected shooter at the time. The man is suspected of having fired seven bullets at the victim. In addition, according to justice, two other men were also shot at in the parking garage under the Grunder apartment.
“It has now been more than 23 years since the then 34-year-old Michael Curiel was murdered in cold blood and without demonstrable reason on the gallery in front of the apartment,” the public prosecutor started the hearing today. The shooting happened at a Dominican party in the apartment.
Escaped to America
The investigation quickly identified the now 55-year-old as the main suspect, but it turned out that he had immediately fled abroad and was therefore missing. Despite international alerts before his arrest, he remained out of sight for years, until he was arrested by the American police in June 2021 for importing thousands of ecstasy pills from Amsterdam to New York. The man served his sentence for that case in America and was extradited after a request from the Netherlands.
There is no doubt as to whether Domingo O. was at the crime scene. His lawyer said today that O. will soon testify about acting out of self-defense, or self-defense.
He also talked about this in a conversation with his brother. That conversation was recorded by the justice department. “If I hadn’t been ready and opened my eyes, I would have been the one dead. They wanted to rob and kill me.”
In 2003, a then 26-year-old man was sentenced to five years in prison for complicity in the shooting. O.’s case will be substantively dealt with later this year.