Trial over fatal Marken teen collision concludes with eight-week sentence recommendation

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is seeking an eight-week prison sentence against 33-year-old Jamal T. from Germany over a fatal traffic collision that killed 14-year-old Tamar from Marken. The crash occurred on the night of July 25, 2020, on the Waterlandse Zeedijk in Zuiderwoude.

The OM says T. was not paying adequate attention while driving, as he was distracted by navigation on a mobile phone held by his passenger. On that basis, prosecutors have recommended a two-week prison sentence. He is also accused of failing to stop and provide assistance after the collision, for which the prosecution is seeking an additional six weeks in custody.

The Public Prosecution Service says it is convinced that Tamar was struck by the defendant. Investigators found DNA belonging to the victim under his vehicle, as well as fibres matching her clothing, and noted damage to the car. The suspect told police he believed he had run over an animal.

Tamar was likely hit while lying on the roadway, the OM believes. Prosecutors say she could not have been walking or standing at the moment of impact, as there were no injuries to her legs and no damage to the car’s bonnet. It remains unclear how or when she came to be on the road.

The victim was discovered on the verge next to the road, and investigators looked into whether she may have been moved there. T. denies any contact with her and says he did not see her at all.

One possibility considered is that she moved herself to the verge in her final moments. No DNA from the suspect was found on her, and there were no drag marks leading into the verge.

“The consequences are unimaginable, and the impact is immense, for the next of kin and the entire village of Marken,” said the prosecutor in a packed courtroom at the Schiphol District Court.

The defense lawyer for T. raised the possibility that Tamar may have been suicidal, pointing to her YouTube search history, which allegedly included videos about suicide. He argued that T. should not be held responsible for the collision if she deliberately did not want to be seen.

At the time of the incident, T. was driving at just over 50 km/h on a road with an 80 km/h limit. The defense, therefore, called for an acquittal.

The OM states that there is no evidence to conclude that Tamar was suicidal. The prosecutor dismissed the idea that she deliberately stepped into the path of the car as pure speculation.

At the start of the well-attended trial, the OM apologised for the lengthy investigation into the fatal crash. The prosecutor said the delay “cannot be justified” and had gone on for too long, addressing both the suspect and the victim’s relatives.

In 2021, the OM issued the driver a €1,500 fine, but the victim’s parents later successfully went to the Court of Appeal to compel a criminal prosecution. “We should have handled it differently. In hindsight, it was not a good decision,” the prosecutor said. “When there is so much uncertainty, the only correct decision is to bring the case before a criminal court, to carefully determine which scenario is most likely.”

Following the court of appeal’s order to prosecute, the OM reopened the case with a new investigation team led by a different prosecutor. The renewed investigation took considerable time, which the OM attributes in part to the appointment of expert witnesses and the fact that the suspect refused to travel to the Netherlands for an extended period.

The case was given additional attention globally a few weeks ago when Elon Musk commented on the case. The owner of X and Tesla insinuated that the OM had hidden the fact that the suspect is originally Iraqi.

The court is scheduled to issue its ruling on July 14.