Former psych prisoner arrested in Steenwijk man's 2010 murder

The police arrested a 42-year-old man from Meppel on Friday morning. He is suspected of involvement in the murder of then 34-year-old Halil Erol from Steenwijk in 2010. This is the second time this suspect is arrested in connection with Erol's murder, the police said in a statement.

On Thursday the police did a new forensic investigation in the Meppel home where the suspect lived in 2010. He was arrested based on this investigation, the police said. 

Sources told Dagblad van het Noorden that the suspect is Matthias M. He previously served a sentence of eight years in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment for manslaughter. He was convicted for killing 29-year-old Anne-Marie van Loon in Noordwolde in October 1997, according to the newspaper.

Halil Erol last seen alive in February 2010, when he went to his ex-wife's house to pick up a laptop one of his young daughters borrowed from him. Four months after his disappearance, his arms - without hands - and legs were found just outside Steenwijk. Erol's ex wife and new boyfriend were arrested early in the investigation, but they were later released and never prosecuted.

In January 2013 Erol's torso was found in a nature reserve in Wanneperveen. The victim's head and hands were never found.

In November 2017 the police arrested a woman in connection with Erol's death. There were reports that she was related to Erol's ex wife, according to newspaper AD. The police said that she was arrested based on information received. The police searched a home in the city of Groningen, which the woman rented in 2010, but nothing was found. She was released again a week later.

In 2010 the Public Prosecutor offered a reward of 15 thousand euros for information that leads to the resolution of this investigation. That reward is still in place.