Two girls from Alkmaar experienced frightening moments last year: in the middle of the night they were followed by a man in a car and ridden off their bicycle. One was also grabbed and beaten. Through camera images, the police came on the track of 26-year-old Jeffrey van V.
He is now incarcerated on suspicion of attempted murder of the two girls. Yesterday he had to appear in court for the first time in an interim hearing. “I am disappointed, sad, speechless,” said the tall, dark-blonde, suspicious twenty-something.
It is the night of October 30, 2021: after an evening with friends in Hoefplan, the first minor victim is cycling towards her house in a northern district of Alkmaar. Sources surrounding the investigation report this to NH Nieuws. On the way, she notices that she is being followed by a car with bright headlights.
She already feels unsafe. When the girl is almost home, the car hits her from behind, she flies through the air and falls to the ground. The panic is great and she runs to the first house she sees. She calls there.
Fled home
The resident opens the door, hears her story and alerts the police. A week later, another girl experiences a horror night: from that November 6 we know that it happened in the park De Rekerhout. At around 1:30 a.m., the teenager is cycling on the bike path past a secondary school when a car comes out of nowhere behind her.
After she has passed the tunnel of the Heukelspad a little further on, the motorist hits her. He gets out, grabs her arms and slaps her on the head, according to the police at the time in a message brought outside.
When she starts to scream, the man lets her go. She makes a run for it and runs towards her house. She leaves her bicycle in the park. According to both girls, they were hit by a light (white) small car, which is then seen on various camera images.
Let the Alkmaarder Jeffrey van V. (26), who lives in Alkmaar-Noord, near the places where it happened, have such a vehicle.
He was arrested on 14 June on suspicion of involvement in the two incidents. The Public Prosecution Service states that he had psychosocial problems during the period of the collision, such as burnout and depressive symptoms.
‘Lend a car to friends’
After his mother was approached by the police about the incidents with the car, Van V. also reportedly searched Google for ‘driving punishment after a collision’. Van V. denies that he hit the girls and states that he sometimes lent his car to friends during that period.
“I was raided, they didn’t find anything, I was intimidated by the police on the street. I was arrested six times for blowing,” he said in court yesterday. His lawyer states that there is no longer any reason to detain him any longer.
Later today, the court will decide on the pre-trial detention of Jeffrey van V. from Alkmaar. If he remains detained, there will be another interim hearing in three months.