Elderly aunt of teen girl’s killer faces probation in witness tampering case

Prosecutors pressing a criminal case against the elderly great-aunt of a convicted killer want the District Court of The Hague to convict the woman of witness tampering for her role in the murder case. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended a suspended jail sentence of two months for Jacoba O., who is related to Olivier van de G. The gymnastics teacher was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2022 for sexually abusing and killing Esmee Kortekaas, a 14-year-old girl who was strangled at the end of 2021.

The OM suspects Jacoba O., an 80-year-old from Amsterdam, of trying to influence two witnesses in the case. She allegedly tried to talk the mother of the gymnastics teacher out of cooperating with the police investigation. The OM argued that she advised the mother against saying anything about the man's mental state.

She also allegedly told Van de G.'s mother to let the phone keep ringing when the police called. The woman is also accused of contacting Van de G.'s ex-girlfriend ahead of the trial. O. was absent from the court case in The Hague on Thursday due to illness.

The prosecutors presented quotes from O. obtained through wiretapped phone conversations. They argued the conversations show O. using her experience as a forensic psychiatrist to influence the witnesses. The OM said the woman has obstructed the witnesses' freedom to testify. The prosecutor said that mandatory community service or jail time serves no purpose due to the suspect's age.

O. was surprised that she is being prosecuted. She claimed she only tried to help the mother through a difficult period. She is convinced that there was no influencing, her lawyer said.

The 14-year-old victim from Hazerswoude-Rijndijk disappeared on the evening of December 30, 2021. Kortekaas's body was found a day later at the Melchior Treublaan in Leiden. Her gymnastics teacher was arrested on the same day.

Van de G. was sentenced to twelve years in prison and mandatory treatment in a psychiatric institution. He had intended to appeal but has since withdrawn his appeal.