Bart van U. to be prosecuted for politician's murder

By Janene Pieters on July 17, 2015 - 11:30

Bart van U. will be prosecuted for the murder of former minister Els Borst, the Public Prosecutor announced on Friday.

Van U. will appear in the court of Rotterdam on Tuesday for a pro-forma hearing on the murder of his sister Lois in January this year. During the next hearing, provisionally expected in September, Van U. will also be charged with involvement in Borst's murder.

The Public Prosecutor believes that there is "sufficient ground" to charge Van U. with involvement in Borst's death. The Prosecutor will ask the Rotterdam court that the two cases be handled simultaneously.

Els Borst was found murdered in the garage of her home in Bilthoven on February 10th, 2014. Van U. only came into the picture as a suspect in January this year, when the police took a DNA sample from him after his sister's murder. The Netherlands Forensic Institute matched his DNA with a sample found at the Els Borst crime scene.

Following Van U.'s identification as a suspect in the Els Borst case, the Hoekstra Committee performed an investigation into the events surrounding Van U. The report of the investigation was released late in June. It contained some harsh criticisms regarding the fact that Van U. never received help or gave a DNA sample in a previous conviction. The Public Prosecutor was also criticized for the way it handles signals about people who may be suffering from dangerous psychiatric problems. The Prosecutor offered apologies to both Els Borst and Lois van U.'s families after the report.