Suspect in 14-year-old Savannah's murder to be tried in June
The trial against 17-year-old Angelo S. from Den Bosch, suspected of murdering 14-year-old Savannah Dekker from Bunschoten last year, will start in June. The court in Utrecht reserved June 18th and 19th for the trial, AD reports.
In a closed pro-forma hearing on Tuesday, the court rejected a request by S.'s lawyer Fleur Zijderveld to have an independent agency look at the investigation results in this case. According to the court, a second opinion is unnecessary, because every fact has already been carefully investigated over the past 9 months.
After the hearing Zijderveld said to AD that there is still no clarity on the cause of Savannah's death. She regrets that the court rejected her request. "It is a very detailed, technical and bulky report. I am on my own and would have liked to have seen an expert agency be appointment for an opinion."
Savannah disappeared from her home town of Bunschoten on June 1st, 2014. She was missing for three days before a passerby found her body in a watery ditch in industrial terrain De Kronkels in Bunschoten on June 4th. Angelo S. was arrested in his home later that same day. The police found some of Savannah's belongings in his room. Surveillance camera footage also show a young man leaving De Kronkels on a bicycle identical to Savannah's bike alone on June 1st. S. is charged with murder and will remain in custody until his trial.
S. still denies having anything to do with Savannah's death. He also denies being the person filmed leaving De Kronkels on June 1st.
Zijderveld is pleased that a trial date has now been set. "It is exceptional that a criminal case against a minor takes so long to start. That's why it is good that the end is now in sight."
