Suspect freed in 1992 garage murder in The Hague, case remains unsolved
A 71-year-old man accused of murdering garage owner Loek van Dam in 1992 has been unexpectedly released from pretrial detention, his lawyer confirmed, making his acquittal highly likely and leaving one of the Netherlands’ most notorious cold cases unresolved, Omroep West reports.
Van Dam, 64 at the time, was found shot six times in the back in his garage office in late January 1992, likely in the afternoon as he prepared to leave for home. He was seated in his chair, wearing his coat and holding his keys. His wallet, containing nearly 1,800 guilders, remained untouched. Prosecutors described the killing as an execution, noting there was no struggle.
Ruben B., Van Dam’s former neighbor and now 71, was an early suspect. Van Dam reportedly had an affair with Ruben B.’s wife, who had been abused by him and sought protection from Van Dam. Ruben B. was detained in 1992 but released, and the case was initially dropped due to insufficient evidence.
The case was reopened after an anonymous tip in 2020 suggested Ruben B. had coerced his then 15-year-old son to commit the murder. The son was briefly detained, but charges against him were later dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Prosecutors continued pursuing Ruben B., who appeared in court on February 16.
“Loek van Dam was executed without the chance to look his killer in the eyes,” prosecutors said at the hearing. Ruben B. denied any involvement, saying, “I did not kill that man, I never held a weapon, and I did not ask anyone else to do it.”
Prosecutors also presented recorded family conversations that appeared to implicate him, but Ruben B. dismissed them as “gossip.” He questioned the weight of witnesses’ statements in court, asking, “All those people have been heard, right? But what is ultimately the conclusion of that?”
Despite the renewed investigation, forensic evidence remains minimal and largely unchanged from 1992. With his pretrial detention lifted, the court appears to have concluded that there is no legally sufficient proof linking Ruben B. to Van Dam’s murder. A final ruling is scheduled for March 24.
Sébas Diekstra, the lawyer representing Van Dam’s son, said, “My client had hoped that after all these years, there would finally be clarity about what happened to his father and who is responsible. For the family, the lack of complete answers is extremely hard.” He also acknowledged the efforts of police and prosecutors: “For him, the most important thing remains that everything possible is done to finally obtain clarity about his father’s murder.”
