Suspect in teen girl's murder denies kidnapping plot

Bekir E., the 31-year-old man accused of gunning down 16-year-old Humeyra Ergincanli at her school in Rotterdam, appeared in court for the first time for a proforma hearing on Tuesday. Codefendant Mohammed Al-M. told the court that E. made up a story that he wanted to kidnap Humeyra, not kill her. The 25-year-old man is furious about this supposed lie, as it is how he became involved in the case, AD reports.

Bekir E. previously confessed that he shot and killed the 16-year-old girl at the Rotterdam Designcollege in Rotterdam-West on December 18th .Last week it was revealed that he actually planned to abduct Humeyra, his ex-girlfriend. He was waiting for her at her school. He had a blueprint of the school and a key of the home in which he planned to keep her with him, according to AD. Instead he shot and killed her in the school's bicycle storage. E. was briefly in court on Tuesday. The only thing he said is that he shot because Humeyra ran away. "She was too fast for me."

But according to Muhammed Al-M., the story that E. wanted to abduct Humeyra is complete nonsense. "Was this a kidnapping? Really?" he shouted in court, according to AD. Bekir E. listened to the outburst motionlessly and did not respond. He then left the courtroom and went back to the cell. This to the great annoyance of Al-M. "Now I get nothing confirmed! That kidnapping story is a joke! I don't even know the victim! I knew nothing. When I heard shots, I left. That abduction is made up. I'm sitting here innocent. I want to say that!"

Al-M.'s lawyer said that his client knew nothing about the murder, that the abduction plans were made up by Bekir E. and that Al-M. "would have stopped him" if he knew. He went with Bekir E. that day to "buy a training suit", the lawyer said. According to the lawyer, E. invented the abduction so that he won't be convicted for murder, but for the "less severe" manslaughter.

The co-defendant's lawyer said that E. was embarrassed and called a "pedophile" because Humeyra lied about her age, saying that she was older than 16. That's why he shot her, according to the lawyer. He only came up with the abduction story a month and a half later, so that he could say he shot her "by accident".

Humeyra's family was already worried that E. would pretend that he did not actually want to shoot the girl, according to the newspaper. Humeyra had a short relationship with E., but broke it off when she found out how old he was, according to the family. He started stalking and threatening her after they broke up.

There is also a third suspect in this case. This man and Al-M. were in the car with Bekir E. on the day he killed Humeyra. The third man is no longer in custody, but still considered a suspect.

A behavioral expert team at the Pieter Baan Center is going to examine E.'s mental capacities and psychological state. Investigations are currently ongoing into the institutions that played a role during the time Humeyra was being stalked by E. According to AD, the trail on this case is expected to start in August or September.