Up to 25 years in prison for Rotterdam double assassination

Two young men were sentenced to 20 and 25 years in prison for assassinating two men in Rotterdam-Beverwaard in December last year. The two perpetrators were both 18 years old at the time of the murders, NU.nl reports.

Gilbert Henrietta (26) and Lindomar Elisabeth (25) were gunned down while sitting in a car on Rhijnauwensingel around 7:00 p.m. on December 20th. The gunmen fired on them from a black Audi, which was later found burning in Ridderkerk. The Audi turned out to be stolen. Weapons experts determined that a Kalashnikov was used in this shooting.

A clear motive for the murders could not be found. The judiciary believes that one of the two victims was targeted because of a quarrel in the criminal world, according to the newspaper.

The main suspect admitted that he opened fire on the victims with an automatic rifle, firing some 25 shots. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Public Prosecutor demanded 30 years in prison against him, because the judiciary considers the chance of repetition to be large. The young man is suspected of multiple other crimes, including a robbery at a Domino's Pizza in Rotterdam-IJsselmonde. He robbed the pizza shop, after which he himself was robbed by two other men with firearms.

The other suspect drove the Audi during the assassinations. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for involvement in the murders. The Prosecutor demanded 25 years in prison against him.

The court sentenced the two young men under adult law due to the seriousness of their crime, but gave them lower sentences than the Prosecutor demanded due to their young age.

Another suspect, who was 17-years-old at the time of the murders and a passenger in the Audi, was sentenced to two years in juvenile detention and institutionalized psychiatric treatment, according to the newspaper. He was sentenced under juvenile law.