Life sentence and 29.5 years in prison for Amsterdam intern mistaken identity murder

The Amsterdam court on Friday sentenced Emylio G. (30) to life imprisonment for the mistaken identity murder of 17-year-old intern Mohamed Bouchikhi in an Amsterdam community center. Co-defendant Randall D. (41) was given a prison sentence of 29.5 years. In May, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded life sentences for both defendants.

Both D. and G. were absent during the verdict, a fact that greatly irritated the court given the presence of the victim's relatives. The court was informed of their absence only at the very last moment

D Their case also involved two assassinations in Amsterdam-Zuidoost and Zaandam in 2015, but they were acquitted of these charges by the court.

On January 26th, 2018, two men walked into the community center in the Wittenburg neighborhood of Amsterdam and opened fire. Bouchikhi was hit multiple times. The young Amsterdam resident was lying on his stomach to protect himself from the violence when one of the gunmen opened fire on him with an AK-47. Two others were injured in the shooting, including the presumed actual target, who was hit in the neck in the shooting, and a woman hit in the legs by flying bullets. She worked at the community center as a trainee.

The court referred to the circumstances as extremely shocking. According to the court, the mistaken murder "demonstrates unprecedented cold-bloodedness."

It was established in court that G. and D. were the shooters, and that G. fired the Kalashnikov, while D. used a handgun.

The victim was doing a cooking workshop at the time of the attack. "The atmosphere turned into a horrible nightmare," the prosecutor said in May. "Many witnesses, most of them minors, are traumatized for life." Bouchikhi's death had a significant impact. Hundreds of people participated in a silent march in the days following his death. A commemorative plaque has been installed for the boy on the building's facade.

G. and D. were also suspected of the murder of 24-year-old baseball player Siegmar Flaneur in Amsterdam-Zuidoost in February 2015. The victim was shot from close range from behind during the night. Both were acquitted of this murder due to a lack of conclusive evidence. The evidence largely relied on an anonymous witness who only had hearsay information, which the court deemed insufficient.

D. was arrested in Curaçao in the summer of 2021. He is also being tried for the murder of criminal Lucas Boom (43) in June 2015. This occurred in broad daylight in front of dozens of elementary school children near a schoolyard in Zaandam. According to the Public Prosecution Office, 38 bullets were fired from automatic weapons. One of the shooters is even alleged to have aimed his weapon's laser at a child. Dozens of shell casings were found on the street and parked cars were damaged.