The court in Breda stopped the trial against poison murder suspect Yvon K. on Wednesday afternoon. She has died and that means that no further prosecution may take place under the criminal code. The case was also ended at the request of the Public Prosecution Service. The final judgment caused disappointment and sadness. The relatives of Chris and Mia fell into each other’s arms, crying.
The court chairman started just after noon by briefly saying that he had learned about the developments through the media and immediately gave the floor to the public prosecutor. “The Public Prosecution Service was informed yesterday that it was a suspect and that she killed herself. This ends the right to prosecute.” The officer simply asked the court if it could end this process.
The court chairman then asked another question. Can you tell us more about the background to the death?” The officer replied: “No.” The court chairman then said that a decision would be discussed and the judges withdrew behind closed doors. That lasted less than five minutes. .
The court chairman briefly read from the report of the officer who found Yvon. “I recognized the person in this photo. It was Yvon. I did a lot of interrogations with her.”
The judge then drew the conclusion: “It is therefore established for the court that Yvon K. has died.”
The court then said that no verdict would be made in the murder case in which Yvon K. was on trial. “Whatever we say would only raise more questions. Why then an acquittal, why a conviction?” Therefore, no verdict followed. There was a deep sigh in the stands. The disappointment was palpable.
Another ‘oh yes’ followed from the judge. “The seized money will be returned to the rightful owners because there is no conviction.” This means that Yvon’s family will get the 227 thousand euros from her safe back.
The entire statement took barely 10 minutes. Nowhere did the court rule on whether Yvon K. was guilty or innocent. After the hearing, the relatives of Chris and Mia walked away crying. They fell into each other’s arms.
Poison
The trial against Yvon K. was two weeks ago. Then the public prosecutor demanded 19 years in prison: 18 years for deliberately poisoning her new boyfriend Chris Grinwis (65) in Halsteren, with his enormous inheritance as the motive for the murder. And on top of that was the requirement of 1 year in prison for money laundering. Yvon had more than 227,000 euros in a safe without being able to clearly explain how she got it, the Public Prosecution Service said.
Yvon K. was immediately identified as a suspect after Chris’s death, but she was only arrested ten months later. The woman from Tilburg spent 331 days in pre-trial detention in the women’s prison in Nieuwersluis. She was released from pre-trial detention because the court saw insufficient objections to detain her longer. Objections may include a risk of escape, a risk of recurrence, influencing witnesses or a direct danger to society.
Yvon herself always maintained that she was innocent, even at the six interim hearings. Chris had taken his own life, she insisted. And that money in the safe was, among other things, an inheritance.
Now that the trial has stopped and the suspect is dead, the criminal case is closed. The surviving relatives can still submit the file to a civil court. He could then judge the inheritance. Whether that will happen is unknown.
You can see how the case surrounding Yvon K. worked in this episode of Crime Explained.