Up to 30 years in jail for duo convicted of gruesome 2021 murders in Amsterdam, Lieshout
The court in Den Bosch sentenced on Tuesday 52-year-old Bill C. to 30 years in prison and 34-year-old Sharona de J. to 22 years and 11 months for two murders committed in 2021. The pair faced trial for the killing of 70-year-old businessman Willem van der Willigen in Lieshout in May 2021 and the killing of 65-year-old Benito van Ommeren in Amsterdam a month later.
According to the court, Bill C. fatally struck Willem van der Willigen with a hammer in his Lieshout villa. Following this, he strangled Benito van Ommeren in Amsterdam with his belt, with Sharona de J. found to be complicit in both murders.
The suspects were in a relationship at the time of the murders. Sharona was a transgender prostitute, and Bill had come to know her as a client. Willem van der Willigen was also one of Sharona's clients.
Bill previously admitted to beating van der Willigen to death with a hammer in his villa in Lieshout while Sharona was present in the house. In the weeks that followed, the couple lived in the villa. Sharona even received clients there, while Van der Willigen's dead body was still in the house. The duo also plundered over 90,000 euros from his bank account in the weeks following his murder.
The pair then left for Amsterdam and stayed in a suite at the Krasnapolsky Hotel for 1,800 euros per night. However, their stay was cut short after they were evicted for soiling their room with feces.
In Amsterdam, Benito van Ommeren took them in, offering shelter in exchange for drugs and groceries. After two days, he asked them to leave. This led to a brawl, during which C. strangled van Ommeren with his belt.
Police arrested the pair on June 26, 2021, at van Ommeren's residence, where they discovered his body beneath a mattress.
The defense argued for manslaughter, denying premeditated intent. Bill C.'s lawyer claimed he acted impulsively, not with the intention to kill. De J. is accused of being an accomplice, as she notably texted C. that the victim was asleep, but her lawyer argued she was taken by surprise by C.'s actions and should not be seen as an accomplice.
However, the court found evidence of premeditation, noting that Bill C. committed the violent acts “after a period of deliberation.” In the Amsterdam case, there was significant and conscious cooperation with the co-suspect before the killing. The court also considered it an aggravating factor that the suspects continued to live in the victim's home after his death.
The court also determined Sharona de J.'s role as an accomplice in the Lieshout murder and a co-perpetrator in the Amsterdam murder. In Lieshout, she guided the co-suspect to the victim’s bedroom, and in Amsterdam, there was deliberate collaboration between her and the co-suspect.
“Moreover, she did not call the police, despite having the opportunity to do so,” the court stated, adding that instead, she left the victims in their homes and soon after the murders, she sought the PINs of bank cards to plunder their accounts. “She took the initiative and a leading role in this,” the court said.
Considering these factors, the court deemed a 23-year prison sentence appropriate for her but deducted one month from that sentence because the case took a long time.
The Public Prosecution Service demanded a life sentence for Bill C. and a 25-year sentence for Sharona. The court, however, did not find a life sentence for Bill C. necessary, citing the absence of a criminal organization and previous convictions for violent crimes, and also considering the man’s age.
In addition to their prison sentences, the suspects are ordered to pay over 140,000 euros in damages to the surviving relatives and 90,000 euros to the bank, as compensation for the shares sold and cash withdrawals made. The bank had previously paid this amount to the relatives out of leniency.
