Life or thirty years in prison? Originally, two suspects in the murder of Peter R. de Vries were supposed to hear the court’s verdict in their case on July 14, 2022. But just before the verdict, the court reopened the investigation into the murder of the crime reporter, who succumbed to his injuries on July 15, 2021. The trial started with the two suspects who were arrested in the getaway car shortly after the attack. In addition to the suspected shooter Delano G. and the suspected driver Kamil E., seven more men are now suspected of involvement in the assassination attempt or preparation thereof. The court will review the progress of the investigation this week.
1Why did the court reopen the investigation?
The Public Prosecution Service reported after the conclusion of the treatment that a new testimony shed a different light on the murder. The new witness, a Polish man nicknamed ‘Eddy’, has designated a man who would have played a pivotal role in the preparations. He is Krystian M. – a 28-year-old Pole from the town of Hrubieszów, not far from the border with Ukraine – who has lived in the Netherlands since his teens. At the end of October 2021, he was arrested on suspicion of drug and arms trafficking. The suspicion of involvement in the murder of De Vries is then concealed, also in court, because the safety of witness Eddy has not yet been arranged.
Empty that thing on him. Don’t screw it up
Kristian M. sends the shooters a photo of Peter R. de Vries
Krystian M. is now seen as the link between the clients and the contractors. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this is apparent from messages on a telephone found in the getaway car of the two suspected perpetrators. “You must have this dog,” writes Krystian M., according to the police, a few hours before the assassination attempt in a message with a photo of De Vries. “Empty that thing on him” and “don’t screw it.”
Partly on the basis of this information and Eddy’s statements, the OM concludes that Krystian M. was the link between the clients and the contractors. The court considers that statement to be so relevant to the criminal case against the two suspected perpetrators of the murder of De Vries that the verdict is postponed and the investigation reopened. The court eventually finds that Krystian M. should be tried together with the two executors. Because other suspects have also come into the picture in the investigation into Krystian M., the number of suspects has risen to nine. What further complicates the criminal case is that Krystian M. and those new suspects are accused of several criminal offenses in addition to the murder of De Vries. That is why the criminal case is still pending.
2Who are all on trial and what are they suspected of?
Krystian M. is associated with a major weapon find in Alphen aan den Rijn in March of 2022. The weapon used against De Vries probably comes from the same party. An important suspect in that investigation is Konrad W. He may have been involved in the delivery of the weapons and, according to the Public Prosecution Service, he would initially carry out the murder of De Vries, a day before the fatal shooting. The plans were changed shortly before the murder, because Konrad W. withdraws. That is why Krystian M. has approached a new shooter: the suspect Delano G.
Two other suspects are present near the studio on July 6 RTL Boulevard in the center of Amsterdam: Gerower C. and Erickson O. According to the Public Prosecution Service, they are responsible for filming and putting online the assassination attempt on Peter R. de Vries. Because the Public Prosecution Service suspects that this was done to sow fear in society, they are accused of membership of a criminal organization with a terrorist motive. The two members of the so-called ‘film crew’ are related to three other men with an Antillean background. One of them is a suspect who would have planned to carry out the attack on De Vries, but just before that he was arrested to serve an old sentence.
3Is there a client in the picture for the murder of De Vries?
The OM has expressed the suspicion that Ridouan Taghi was the client of the murder. Taghi has not been charged, but there are links between Krystian M. and Taghi. In addition to involvement in the murder of De Vries, Krystian M. and four co-defendants are also being prosecuted for the assault of a Moroccan man in May 2021 and an attempted assault of the same man a few months later. The victim in those cases is the ex-husband of a sister of Taghi.
Even more striking is that, according to the judiciary and the police, Krystian M. has had contact with a cousin of Taghi about this abuse: Jaouad F. The OM links Jaouad F. to the murder of Derk Wiersum, the lawyer of the key witness in the Marengo liquidation investigation , in which Taghi is the prime suspect. Jaouad F. was convicted in Morocco of involvement in a mistaken murder in Marrakech at the end of 2017, in which a son of a Moroccan judge was mistaken for a rival of Taghi.
4How long will it take for the court to issue a verdict?
The court plans to hear the substance of the cases against the nine suspects in January and February 2024. The verdict will then follow in the spring.
Also read this article: Ridouan Taghi does not appear at the Marengo trial pre-trial hearing