Court accepts murder confession to undercover agent; suspect given 18 years

The court in Breda sentenced Wim S. to 18 years in prison for the murder of his partner Heidy Goedhart in Kaatsheuvel in 2010. The sentence is equal to what the prosecutor demanded, AD reports.

The Prosecutor's case against S. relied heavily on a confession S. made to an undercover agent. He later retracted the confession. During the trial experts raised doubts about this evidence, saying the confession was manipulated. But on Monday the court decided to accept the undercover operation as lawful. The suspect's right to a fair trial was not violated, according to the court.

S. plans to appeal against the sentence. "I didn't do it, you have the wrong man", he said as after the verdict. People in the gallery applauded as he was led away to prison.

Heidy Goedhart's body was found in the garden of her Kaatsheuvel home in December 2010. Emergency services tried to resuscitate her, but to no avail. Investigation revealed that she was strangled to death.