Suspect in defense lawyer's murder linked to another attempted killing

Anouar T., suspected of involvement in the murder of defense attorney Derk Wiersum, was arrested in his cell last week on suspicion of an attempted murder on 30 October 2019. A 28-year-old man was beaten to within an inch of his life with a large demolition hammer on Hopakker in Utrecht by three men, AD reports.

Ousamma B. and Jesse S., both from Utrecht, were also arrested in connection with this case last week. The police are investigating their involvement.

The three men are also suspected of participating in a criminal organization, led by T., according to the newspaper. This gang is suspected of facilitating assassinations by stealing cars and selling them to be used as getaway vehicles. Sources told AD that the victim in the Utrecht attack also belonged to this gang, and was attacked because he wanted out. 

A stolen Volkswagen Transporter was also used in the Wiersum murder. The van was spotted around the lawyer's Amsterdam home multiple times in the run-up to the fatal shooting on September 18 last year. It was found with a flat tire at the Hoptille parking garage in Amsterdam five days after the murder. The suspicion is that the perpetrators wanted to use the van for the assassination, but the flat tire prevented it. 

Anouar T. denied any involvement in Wiersum's murder. His lawyers claim that he was involved in stealing cars, but that this had to do with his past as an ATM bomber.