Court of Appeal upholds life sentences for brothers involved in quadruple murder

The Court of Appeals in Zwolle sentenced two brothers to life in prison on Friday for their role in four murders in a cannabis growing shop in Enschede. The punishments for Dejan (38) and Denis A. (36) are in line with the recommendation set by the Public Prosecution Service (OM). “You executed four victims in a cold-blooded way by shooting them in the head several times. The fear and acute mortal terror they must have experienced cannot be expressed in words," the court said.

Four victims were fatally shot from close range with two firearms in a building on the Van Leeuwenhoekstraat on November 13, 2018. One of the victims was the owner of the store that sold materials for cannabis growth.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison by the court in Almelo in 2020, along with their father, Camil A. They appealed the decision. The father passed away at 61 years of age while he was in prison in August 2022.

A. and Dejan initially used their right to remain silent, but Dejan said during the appeal that his father was the only shooter, and was holding a gun in both hands. The court of appeals did not believe this argument. “All three were involved in the shooting of the four victims. All traces and evidence point towards active involvement of several people.”

The court said that, in retrospect, it is not possible to determine exactly what the division of roles was between the two brothers and their father. “This is also because you were not completely open about the incidents,” the court said to the men.

The court chair said during the verdict that the crime was a “cold and bloody action in a short space of time.” Only lifelong prison sentences were appropriate, the court thinks. The four murders were committed during the daytime and caused a lot of unrest. “Everybody had to die, and no witnesses were allowed to remain alive.”

Little was said about the motives for the murders by the court. Dejan said that his father delivered weapons to Enschede. The weapons trader was allegedly threatened by one of the victims about the price of the items, which led to the shooting.

The OM thinks that the shooting was related to a financial conflict because one of the victims was robbed of thousands of euros that he had with him after the murder, and the cash register was emptied. “For the relatives, many questions have been left unanswered.