Weeping suspect denies involvement in crime reporter's murder; Ruling on June 12

“I’m very sorry about what happened to you. I know the pain when a loved one’s life is simply taken away. But from the bottom of my heart, I tell you I had nothing to do with the murder of your loved one,” a tearful Lugardo S. (35) said to Peter R. de Vries’s relatives on Thursday in the high-security court in Osdorp. Another suspect claimed his involvement only happened under extreme pressure during the closing arguments in this case. The court will rule on June 12. The court ordered all nine suspects to attend the ruling.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded 14 years in prison against S. In the run-up to the attack on the crime reporter, the Curacaoan allegedly carried out preliminary reconnaissance and looked up information online. De Vries was shot on 6 July 2021 in the center of Amsterdam after leaving the RTL Boulevard studio. He died in the hospital nine days later.

S. denied all accusations. On the final day of the murder trial, he very emotionally addressed the De Vries family, the prosecutors, detectives, and finally also, the judges. He thanked them for the opportunity to conduct an additional investigation “and thus prove my innocence.” He said: “Otherwise, I wouldn't know where I would be now.”

S.’s brother was shot dead at the end of 2022. He said he suffered “indescribable” trauma as a result of his brother’s murder and his pre-trial detention in the De Vries case. “I have not been able to process the death of my brother due to my arrest. It has caused many varying emotions, from anger to sadness to frustration. I feel that an injustice has been done to me.”

His lawyer Ruud Keller had shortly before fiercely criticized the OM’s investigation. He spoke of an “investigation that is rattling on all sides” and “a case that has become a collapsed house of cards.” He accused the OM of responding selectively to his earlier defense. “We have refuted many research findings with facts, and there has been no response.”

In addition to Keller, only the lawyer of Konrad W. made a final defense on Thursday. W. (31) was allegedly first hired to shoot De Vries, but he pulled out at the last minute. In his last word, the Pole briefly apologized to De Vries daily. “I think it’s terrible what happened,” he said. “But I can’t feel responsible.”

Other suspects had their last say on Wednesday. “If I had known what would happen that day, I wouldn’t have gone. I didn’t kill anyone, and I didn’t see anyone killed,” Kamil El., the alleged getaway driver, said in court on Wednesday. “I didn’t kill your father. I was just a driver,” he said to De Vries’s children.

E. (37) is one of three suspects facing life in prison for the De Vries murder. The OM also demanded life against alleged gunman Delano G. (24) and alleged “murder broker” Krystian M. (28). Both declined to speak on Wednesday. “I said enough the other day,” said M., hiding in his hoody.

The 28-year-old Pole said a month ago that he had been put under severe pressure to forward messages and thus was forced to play a role in De Vrie’s murder. He didn’t explain it further. The prosecutors, therefore, called his statement “meaningless” earlier on Wednesday. They emphasized that after two years of silence, M. tried to diminish his own role under the guise of an expression of regret. “He says that he was only a conduit for messages. But he arranged everything and was very actively involved in management around the time of the attack.”

M.’s lawyer, Ronald van der Horst, could not believe that the prosecutors were ignoring the pressure his client felt to obey his orders. “According to the OM, the most terrifying criminal organization that the Netherlands has ever known had a hand in this murder, but we should not worry about that any further. That ignores reality. The line to the order givers is obviously of great importance. We should not pretend that there was voluntary participation in De Vries’s death. As a court, you have to do something about that, even if only in terms of the punishment.”

According to the OM, its investigation into “the higher echelon” in this murder is still in full swing. The OM suspects that the order for De Vries’s murder came from Ridouan Taghi. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to life in prison in the Marengo assassinations trial. De Vries was the confidant of Nabil B., the key witness in the Marengo process.