Dutch man wanted in Romanian girl's murder dies in apparent traffic suicide

The 47-year-old Dutch man wanted in connection with the strangulation of a young Romanian girl killed himself in a car wreck on Monday. Police in the East-Brabant district of the Netherlands confirm to NL Times that the man suspected by Romanian authorities drove his car into oncoming traffic, striking a lorry in a head-on collision. 

The truck then rolled over on the N321 near Escharen, Noord-Brabant. The driver of the truck was unharmed in the incident, which took place at 4 p.m. on Monday.

Romanian authorities had identified the man suspected of killing Mihaela Fieraru as Johannes V.

Though Dutch officials would not confirm the name of the person killed in the accident, they did confirm it was the man sought by Romanian police for questioning. They also said he resided in Cuijk, less than a 10-minute drive from the crash scene.

"We [currently] have an investigation into the accident," a spokesperson from the district's public prosecution service (OM) said. The police, prosecutor, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs all said on Monday that officials in both countries were actively speaking with each other about the case. 

Dode bij ongeluk op N321 bij Escharen, gekantelde vrachtwagen blokkeert de weg: Bij een ongeluk tussen een vrachtwagen en een auto aan de Vegetasscheweg in Escharen is maandagmiddag een dode gevallen. Het is nog niet duidelijk of het om een man of vrouw… https://t.co/CdlZgr5LUw pic.twitter.com/XarNg9SYj7

— chauffeursnieuws (@NieuwsCN) September 23, 2019

A car rented by V. was seen in security camera footage shot in Gura Sutii, the town in Dambovita, Romania, where the girl went missing. The video was captured at about the time she disappeared, shortly after 5:15 p.m. on Friday. She was likely killed soon after, Romanian authorities reportedly said.

Johannes V. departed Romania by plane on Saturday. The girl's body was found wrapped in plastic a day later in the Produlesti village about seven kilometers south of the girl's hometown. Authorities said the girl's own pants were used to strangle her. 

"With great regret the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has learned about the tragic death of a young girl in Gura Sutii. The Netherlands’ authorities stand ready to assist their Romanian partners," the Dutch embassy in Romania said in a statement on social media.

"The Romanian authorities are leading the investigation. If they need help with something, we'll do it for them," the OM spokesperson stated.

Op de Vegetasscheweg in #Escharen toen wij onderzoek naar de dood van een persoon, wat in eerste instantie leek op een ongeval met een vrachtwagen. Inmiddels gaan we er van uit dat deze persoon zelf een einde aan zijn leven heeft gemaakt.

— Politie Oost-Brabant (@politieob) September 23, 2019