Suspects regret brawl that led to Dutch tourist's death on Mallorca

Two of the nine suspects in the trial surrounding two brawls on Mallorca that led to the death of 27-year-old Carlo Heuvelman in July last year expressed regret for their actions. On Tuesday, Kaan B. (19) from Hilversum called the nightlife violence he and his friends were involved in terrible. On Wednesday, Hein B. (19) called it the “stupidest mistake” of his life.

Kaan B. was the first of the nine suspects to be individually questioned by the court about the events in July last year. “I deeply regret the things I did that night,” he said in the court in Lelystad on Tuesday. He and five others are suspected of attempted manslaughter of a man called Bram, one of Heuvelman’s friends, during the first of two fights on the boulevard of the Spanis seaside resort of El Arenal on 14 July 2021. Heuvelman died as a result of the second fight further up the boulevard. He died in hospital on 18 July 2021.

At club De Zaak, B. and his friends allegedly hit and kicked Bram at 1:45 a.m. while he was lying on the ground. Another victim suffered a broken nose in the incident. Kaan is also suspected of public violence.

Kaan said he was in another pub until nearly closing time, and he wanted to help his friends who got into an argument in De Zaak. He now realizes he made bad choices. Shortly after his intervention in the conflict, he dealt one of the first blows. “It was to help friends, but that was a very wrong thought. I should have distanced myself from those fights,” said the suspect.

Daan van S. (19) was the second suspect on the first day of the hearings. Like Kaan, he is suspected of attempted manslaughter at De Zaak and public violence. Daan told the court that there had been an argument about chairs in De Zaak and that his friend got beaten up. He said he tried to calm things down outside but received a hard blow to the back of the head on the boulevard.

The blow triggered his anger and “a kind of vindictiveness.” Daan then punched around him and decided to “get hold of” the man. He gave the victim, Bram, two kicks the moment he fell to the ground. He regrets that. “I should have run away instead of taking revenge.”

Further down the Boulevard, Daan van S. allegedly took off his torn shirt and joined the second fight. There he saw someone spitting at his friend and co-defendant Sanil B. (20). Daan got another blow to the back of the head and ended up in a fight with an opponent, so he said he never saw what happened to Carlo Heuvelman.

Hein B. told the court on Wednesday that he is not a fighter. Until his holiday last year July, he had never been in a fight. “I don’t like fighting,” he told the judges on the second day of the trial. “I deeply regret it. It’s the stupidest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.”

Hein B. and two others are suspected of manslaughter - direct involvement in Heuvelman’s death - but he denies that he fought with Heuvelman that evening. B. is also suspected of public violence and attempted manslaughter of Bram. Images shown in court on Wednesday show Hein B. and co-defendant Sanil B. kicking Bram, who was already on the ground in front of De Bierexpress. Bram’s DNA was found on their right shoes.

According to Hein B., someone had spat on Sanil’s face. So he kicked the victim with the inside of his foot, he admitted, “as if you were playing football.” He said he hit the victim at shoulder height. “I didn't hit him with all my strength,” Hein B. answered when asked whether he or Sanil knocked out Bram.

Mees T. was the second suspect questioned on Wednesday. The 19-year-old is back in pre-trial custody because he violated the conditions of his release in January - he used drugs and went on holiday abroad with friends.

T. told the court that his friends called him over for help. T. hit one of the victims with a broken nose in front of De Zaak. “I saw blood and a crooked nose. The situation scared me. I felt adrenaline and fear,” said T.

Images also show involved in the fight against Bram, who was helping his friend with the broken nose. T. said he hit Bram several times but did not kick him when he was already on the ground.