Swimming pool murder: ‘Maybe Jan Elzinga organized his own murder?’

“He was acting quite strange at the time,” H. told the judges. Other scenarios are settlements in the criminal environment or a fight in the motocross world. H. also noted that it is quite possible that co-defendant Johan L. from Kampen had a problem with Elzinga. “And the blame is then shifted to our shoes”, H. complained.

Both Marcel H. and Johan L. were arrested in July last year, along with Monique H. (43) from Hollandscheveld and 60-year-old Coby van der L. from Roden, for provoking a murder.

It is still not clear why Jan Elzinga (40) had to be liquidated in front of the swimming pool ten years ago. Pascal E. from Zwolle, who pulled the trigger, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Willem P. from Kampen had incited him to do so and had to sit for 20 years.

The Zwollenaar reported from the start that Elzinga’s then girlfriend and his in-laws were behind the assassination attempt. The shooter knew from P. that Elzinga was abusing his girlfriend and therefore he should be dead.

Willem P. kept his mouth shut about this, but in 2016 he came up with text messages and more information about the alleged murder plans. They belonged to the H family. For this, P. received a penalty of 30 percent. The man is now roaming free. These text messages were faked, the lawyers of the current suspects found.

Willem P. had to appear as a key witness in the Groningen court yesterday, but the man is missing. Also on the second day, all contact between the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and P. seemed to have been broken.

The judge had to make do with the revelations of P. that are listed in the criminal file. “Ridiculous. That man has put his story together nicely. But he also had enough time for that, to do that”, reacted Marcel H. to this. He does not know Willem P. and therefore did not know from whom he received those text messages in 2015. The forty-something doesn’t remember much: “It’s been ten years already”. Not even the report that his sister Monique made to the police in April 2012 about criminal activities and ‘weird things’ around her husband.

At that time, there was a lot of texting between brother, sister and their mother. While there was little contact before that. Mother and daughter would be on vacation, which was arranged by Marcel H.. It is suspected that ‘the holiday’ meant the murder of Elzinga. The bank records do not show that money was spent on a holiday. The judge also called it remarkable that the shooter knew that Monique and her parents had gone to the police. Marcel H.: “He may have heard that from Willem P..”

H. denied meeting P. at fast food restaurants and gas stations. He also denied passing on specifics of Elzinga, such as his clothing and a photo of the man, so that the shooter wouldn’t be mistaken.

When Willem P. concludes a deal with the judiciary behind the scenes, the police start a new investigation: Drop. To collect more evidence against Marcel H. and his family, an undercover agent will be deployed in June 2021.

This agent delivers a telephone to the mother and poses as an ex-prisoner who was in the cell with Willem P.. He said he knows all about the murder. Everything is on that phone call. “What is that information worth to you, I want the answer tomorrow,” said the agent.

Meanwhile, the police listen in on the family and hear panic. Marcel H. visits Johan L. in Kampen. L. is suspected of having arranged the weapon. “I wanted to know if he knew more about that telephone,” said H. at the hearing. “It had been quiet for years and I thought we were being extorted.”