Suspects spent months hunting man before his girlfriend was shot dead: Prosecutor

The murder of 27-year-old Ayla Mintjes in Amsterdam on May 16th was the culmination of a months-long hunt on her boyfriend, Anis B. The 26-year-old man was the intended target of the shooting that cost Mintjes her life, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in two hearings against four suspects on Thursday, NU.nl reports.

According to the OM, a total of nine suspects were following B. around for months, with the aim of mapping out his daily routine or shooting him. At least one attempt on his life was nipped in the bud, according to the OM.

On January 28, an observant citizen saw two men hanging around a gym in Amsterdam-Noord in a stolen car for 3.5 hours. B. was known to frequent that gym. The citizen called the police, who deployed cops to check it out. When they arrived at the scene, suspects Tyron Z. (22) and Sereno O. (20) fled, also crashing into a police car - which the OM considers attempted manslaughter. 

When their car was eventually brought to a halt and the two suspects arrested, the police found automatic firearms, a handgun, and a balaclava in the car. There was also a can of petrol, which the OM believes was to be used to set the car on fire after they tried to kill B.

Both Z. and O. were still on probation for violent crimes when they were arrested in January. On Thursday their pre-trail detention was extended until the substantive hearing against them in early December.

The other hearing was against 21-year-old Sivihno R. and 22-year-old Levert K., who were arrested a month after Mintjes' murder. According to the OM, they were involved in the reconnaissance that preceded the shooting.

Just before the murder they tried to break into a garage on Maassluisstraat where Mintjes parked her car - the car she was killed in with B. sitting next to her in the passenger seat. R. and K. wanted to stick a tracker under the car, but failed, the OM said. They also kept an eye on the tanning salon in Diemen, where Mintjes worked. And gave the gunmen B.'s parents' address, the OM said. "With this they provided crucial information," said the OM during Thursday's hearing. 

The court also extended R. and K.'s pre-trial detention, until December 15 when their next pro-forma hearing is scheduled. The case against them is still in the preparatory phase.