Case pressed against cop in "missing" suicide note case

A police officer who allegedly lied about a suicide note after the death of Talitha (25) from Amsterdam should be prosecuted. This is according to lawyer Sébas Diekstra, who is assisting the young woman's relatives, Het Parool reports.

According to the newspaper, the lawyer is trying to use a so-called Article 12 procedure to force the Public Prosecutor to prosecute the officer. Early last year the police officer stated that a handwritten note was found in Talitha's handbag which described the train route from the Heerhugowaard station to where she was run over by a train in 2013. "Even where you can best enter the track" and "something over a fence", the officer said.

But when Talitha's mother found the note between her belongings, the note said nothing about a route or a fence that could indicate a suicide plan. The note only had train times on it. The police officer then stated that it had to be a different note, but that has never been found. Officers who received the bag and the note and handed it over, deny that there was another note.

In January the Public Prosecution apologized for jumping to the conclusion that Talitha had committed suicide in 2013. It later turned out that there was no evidence for that. Forensic pathologist Frank Gutter examined the available evidence last week and concluded that a suicide seems very unlikely and the more likely scenarios are an accident or a crime.

Diekstra is demanding a new investigation into the death of the young woman. According to him, there is still no clarity on the circumstances, partly because the police did not collect any trace evidence.