Man convicted in mistaken ID murder cuts off ankle bracelet and is on the run

A 33-year-old man who was sentenced to twenty years in prison on Tuesday for his involvement in a 2020 murder was considered a fugitive on Wednesday after he cut off his ankle bracelet. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirmed that August D. was on the loose after the story was reported by the Telegraaf.

D. was one of six people convicted in the murder of Mehmet Kiliçsoy, a handyman from Nijmegen. Kiliçsoy was believed to have been targeted in the drive-by shooting by mistake.

The pre-trial detention of August D. was halted in November because the court found that there was not enough evidence against the man to keep him locked away at that time. "On an additional court day at the end of November, the public prosecutor presented new evidence. The man was convicted on the basis of this," the OM explained.

The man was ordered to report to authorities on December 21. At the time, he was wearing an ankle bracelet because of a prior conviction "which made it possible to see his whereabouts." That ankle bracelet has now been cut off, and the man’s location is currently unknown. An international alert has been distributed in the hope of tracking him down.

Kiliçsoy was 49 years old when he was shot in the head and upper body on the morning of July 6, 2020 on Thorbeckeplein in Beuningen, Gelderland. Two masked men opened fire from a stolen white Volkswagen Transporter.

The court ruled it was likely a murder where the handyman was mistaken for someone else, because no motive for murdering Kiliçsoy could be uncovered. It is unclear who the intended target was. On Tuesday, the court imposed sentences of between five and thirty years in prison against the six suspects in the case.