The Sudanese refugee Hala E., who came to the Netherlands in the 1990s, was friends with Hoogerbrugge and was one of the few who visited him. Although she moved to Luton in England in 2011, she regularly made the overseas crossing to visit the Hoogevener.
In sentencing E., the court based its conviction on several findings that cast doubt on her innocence. For example, DNA traces and fingerprints of E were found on glasses in the dishwasher. The glasses also contained remains of the medicines, such as tranquilizers, antidepressants and antipsychotics, which were also found in Hoogerbrugge’s body. Enough to put someone in a coma. A former acquaintance of hers from Meppel was robbed of the same medicines during that period.