British man stabbed to death in Heerhugowaard was wanted for Amsterdam double murder
The police believe that a 52-year-old British man who died in a stabbing incident in Heerhugowaard earlier this week was the perpetrator of a double murder in Amsterdam in 2017. The authorities have linked the man to the fatal shooting of Dutchman Pieter Hoovers (54) and his wife Tae (32), Parool and NH Nieuws discovered.
The British man died in a violent incident on Coulumbstraat in Heerhugowaard on Monday. Two other men, a 44-year-old from Velsen and a 65-year-old from Heerhugowaard, were injured. The police later arrested them at the hospital.
According to Parool and NH Nieuws, the Amsterdam police identified the killed man as the main suspect in the murders of Pieter Hoovers and his Thai wife, Tae Kawepanya. They were found killed in an apartment on Ceintuurbaan in the De Pijp neighborhood on July 17, 2017.
Investigators believe that the couple, who lived in Thailand but were holidaying in the Netherlands, had been shot dead in the home two days earlier. The shooter was never caught.
In May 2024, a cold case team at the Amsterdam district police office released new information about the suspected murderer, offering a reward for his arrest. The suspect was identified as a “British criminal” seen on security camera footage near the crime scene up to three times.
The police speculated that the couple was not home during the suspect’s first visit and let him in themselves the second time. Investigators believe he returned a third time as part of an effort to cover his tracks.
The man remained at large and was never prosecuted or convicted. On Monday, the Noord-Holland police identified the man killed in Heerhugowaard and connected him to the Amsterdam cold case. The Amsterdam police said they already informed the families of Pieter Hoovers and Tae Kawepanya about the development.
