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Mark de J. (Photo: Mark de J. / Facebook)
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Mark de J. (Photo: Mark de J. / Facebook)
Friday, 25 March 2016 - 16:14
Tennis coach suspected of murder set for Saturday arraignment
Tennis coach Mark de J. was officially named a suspect in the murder of businessman Koen Everink, the public prosecutor revealed on Friday. A court in Utrecht will hear arguments on Saturday about the detention of De J., a tennis coach arrested earlier in the week at Schiphol Airport.
The prosecutor plans to ask the court to remand De J. into custody for a longer period of time while the case develops further.
De J. coaches Dutch tennis star Robin Haase, who withdrew from a tennis tournament in Miami last week claiming a knee injury. De J. is believed to have just returned from Miami when he was placed into custody at the Amsterdam airport on Thursday.
Everink was found stabbed to death in his Bilthoven home at the beginning of March. He and Haase had recently attended an event together in January, Haase told Quote after the murder. "I have no words for it," Haase stated. "He was going to start a business again, and would soon have been traveling with another tennis player."
Everink was a self-made millionaire who found success in the travel and tourism industry. He testified against Dutch kickboxer Badr Hari after Hari led an assault on Everink at the Sensation White party in 2012. Years later, Everink still suffered physically from the damage sustained in the assault, he said in court. Prior to that, he had been particularly fond of playing football and tennis.