Loved ones of Weiteveen double murder victims holding police liable
Loved ones of Ineke Mussche (44) and Przemyslaw "Sam" Czerniawski (38) are holding the police liable for negligence in the run-up to the couple’s murder in Weiteveen in January last year. Richard K. killed Ineke and Sam after a year-long feud about the home they bought from him, involving dozens of incidents between the two parties.
“Our clients believe that the police acted negligently, which conflicts with their duty to protect citizens in the event of a concrete threat,” lawyer Sebas Diekstra, who is representing the family, told NOS. “Despite a large number of extremely clear signals, the police failed to take appropriate action.”
In January, the police published a report acknowledging that they had made major mistakes in the handling of the conflict between K. and the couple. In the year running up to the double murders, about 80 police reports had been filed with the parties accusing each other of defamation, intimidation, and threats. The police recorded those reports as separate incidents and failed to notice that the conflict was escalating. K. still had a valid gun permit when he murdered the couple, though he used illegal firearms to do so.
Last month, the court sentenced K. to life in prison for murdering Sam and Ineke. The 51-year-old man showed up at their home heavily armed on 16 January 2024. He first shot Ineke dead in her car as she returned from taking their daughter to school. He then went to the house to do the same to Sam. The bullets didn’t kill Sam and the couple’s 12-year-old son watched as K. bludgeoned his father to death with the butt of his gun.
K. appealed against the sentence. The man confessed to the murders, but during the trial took no responsibility. He kept blaming the victims for not backing down.
