Suspect flashed gun at passerby just before Rotterdam psychiatrist's murder

Bretly D., suspected of the murder of Rotterdam psychiatrist Jean van Griensven, among other things, showed a firearm to a passerby at Rotterdam-Zuid station shortly before the deadly violence. He then went to the victim's home “in a straight line.”

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) said this on Wednesday while explaining the state of the investigation into 24-year-old D.’s suspected crimes. The court in Rotterdam held the first public introductory hearing in the case in the extra-secure chamber. The suspect remained in his cell and did not attend.

The OM suspects D. of the murder of 60-year-old Van Griensven on October 13. He allegedly shot the victim in the forehead at point-blank range. D. then allegedly set a fire in the psychiatrist’s home on Handelsplein in Rotterdam. The fire brigade found the seriously injured man after extinguishing the fire. He died at the scene.

In the subsequent investigation, detectives identified D. as the suspect through, among other things, camera footage and witness statements. D.’s DNA was also found on a cigarette butt and a glass in Van Griensven’s home, the OM said. The flashing of the weapon at the train station was also recorded by cameras.

According to the OM, the investigation is in the final phase. D. will be sent to the Pieter Baan Center for a behavioral examination. The suspect denies all accusations against him and has consistently remained silent during the police interrogations, the OM said.

D. managed to evade the police for quite some time. On the night of October 20 to 21, he allegedly stabbed a 32-year-old man in the leg in a home in Zutphen and tried to strangle the man several times. He also allegedly vandalized the contents of the victim’s home.

After the incident in Zutphen, the police published a photo and D.’s full name on the same day, describing him as armed and dangerous. The police received hundreds of tips. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday morning, October 25, at a hotel on Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam.

D.’s lawyer wants the authorities to thoroughly examine other possible scenarios surrounding Van Griensven’s death. D. and the victim had a sex date, according to the lawyer. The lawyer said that Van Griensven had such dates relatively often, also using drugs during them. He wants to question the victim’s other sex partners as witnesses.

The next interim hearing is on April 15.

Reward for tip paid out

The 25,000 euros reward for the tip that led to D.’s arrest will be paid out, the chief public prosecutor of the Rotterdam OM decided. The money will be divided among different people. “It proves once again that giving a golden tip certainly pays off,” the Rotterdam OM said on Wednesday.

The OM did not reveal how many tipsters will get what amount for privacy reasons.

The Rotterdam OM also said that this is the second time in a year that a reward is paid for a golden tip in a criminal investigation. In March 2023, the authorities paid 30,000 euros to tipsters whose information helped in the arrest of a man wanted for killing his mother-in-law and attempting to kill his ex in Zwijndrecht.