Family of killed jewelry robbers demand investigation

Surviving family members of two robbers shot during a jewelry store heist are demanding the prosecution of the woman who killed the pair. A lawyer representing the family is calling for an Article 12 procedure with a court assigned to examine the deaths. “The relatives want a judge to look into their deaths,” Bénédicte Ficq told Nu.nl. Article 12 of the Dutch criminal code allows for someone to challenge a prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute a crime. Prosecutors chose not to charge the wife of the Goldies jewelry store owner who shot at armed robbers threatening her husband on March 28, 2014. She was in the back office at the Deurne, Noord Brabant facility watching the security camera video feed of her husband as he was doused with pepper spray and held at gunpoint. She then grabbed her husband’s loaded firearm and fired on the robbers from a slightly opened doorway. Her shots struck one robber through the heart, while the second robber was shot dead during his struggle with the husband. “Maybe this could have been avoided if the relatives heard something sincerely remorseful,” Ficq said. “But they have had no response.” A third suspect was arrested in connection with the robbery. The 27-year-old man said through his defense attorney, Gerard Spong, that he was not involved.