Dad: "No punishment high enough" for 1995 murder; verdict today
Today the court in Den Bosch will rule in the case surrounding the murder of 15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk in 1995. Suspect Jos de G. faces 14 years in prison. "Of course you can never live with a punishment that will never be high enough for someone who killed your daughter", father Ad van den Hurk said on Omroep Brabant program Kraak on Sunday. "But it is the highest punisment the court can impose."
Nicole van den Hurk disappeared on Friday, October 6th, 1995 on her way to her part time job at a shopping center in Eindhoven. Her body was found in the woods between Mierlo and Lierop about six weeks later. She had been raped and murdered. Several DNA traces were found on NIcole's body, including traces that most likely belong to De G. He was arrested in January 2014 and has been in custody since.
De G. denies having raped and killed Nicole. He believes that he's been unfairly locked up for 33 months. "I can not take responsibility for something I did not do." he said during a previous hearing in court, according to Omroep Brabant. The verdict in this case was expected last year, but the trial was delayed when two new witnesses came forward. Both were in a psychiatric institution with De G. and believe he told them about murdering Nicole.
Ad van den Hurk, Nicole's father, called De G. a monster on Kraak on Sunday. "This is not a man, but a terrible creature. He can't imagine what he would do if De G. was acquitted. ""That's a scenario we can't even imagine. I also don't really want to think about it." he said, adding that his world would "absolutely" collapse.
