In years of clandestine family tree and DNA research into thousands of men in De Kempen, the police failed to find a serial rapist. The man struck at least twelve times between 1989 and 2010, especially in the vicinity of Valkenswaard, Veldhoven and Waalre. Large-scale DNA kinship research is definitely not going to happen.
“When selecting cases in which large-scale DNA testing is used, for example, the chance of success or possible statute of limitations in these types of investigations is examined,” explains a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service. This is an extensive and costly event.
That is why such a large-scale DNA relationship test is only used in a few cases. “In recent years, especially in murder cases. In this case, DNA has been taken from dozens of men in the hope of finding the perpetrator. So far without success. But the trace remains in the database and is regularly compared with other traces, also in the future. To date, a large-scale DNA relationship test has been abandoned in this case for several reasons. In this case, prescription plays a role and other forms of DNA research that are applied. We will continue to focus on this in order to find a solution, now and in the future.”
Valkenswaard or Riethoven dialect
Thanks to the victims, the detectives know many details about the suspect. He is white, between 1.70 and 1.80 meters tall, has a Valkenswaard or Riethoven dialect, is said to be between 55 and 60 years old by now, wore work shoes at the time, had an unkempt appearance, presumably blond or reddish hair, rough hands and smelled of sweat, cigarettes and booze. In 2006 he would have been balding.
His victims say that he made an unintelligent impression on them.
Very good DNA trace
The first rape took place in May 1989. Two young women fell victim to an unknown man on the Luikerweg in Valkenswaard during the night hours. It turned out to be the start of a series of rapes and assaults in the region. In 2010, the last rape that is presumably linked to the man took place.
The man left a very good DNA trace after three rapes. It ED was allowed to look behind the scenes at the cold case investigation for years.
Extensive family tree research
At the end of 2015, the police selected 2400 men from Valkenswaard and Bergeijk who lived in that area at the time of the first rape in May 1989 and were between 16 and 35 years old. Without their knowledge, the police searched the judicial database for family members with DNA through extensive pedigree research of all those men. That succeeded in five hundred cases. The Netherlands Forensic Institute then checked whether the perpetrator’s trace matched the DNA of one of those families. That yielded nothing.
In addition, the criminal investigation department focused on another five hundred men from the vicinity of Eersel and Waalre in a broader search area. These were people who stood out because of tips or because of their sexual and violent past. They were examined in the same way through pedigree and DNA research. Also in vain.
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