White delivery van used as getaway car in lawyer's assassination
The police believe that a white delivery van was used as a getaway car after the murder of lawyer Derk Wiersum outside his home on Imstenrade in Amsterdam. Witness statements and video footage showed a white vehicle "similar to a Fiat Doblo" driving away from the area immediately after Wiersum was gunned down on Sepember 18th, the police said on Sunday.
The investigators are also almost convinced that there were two people in the delivery van when it was filmed on Boshuishuizenstraat in Buitenveldert that morning.
"Usually, after such a serious crime, a getaway car is set on fire somewhere to erase trace evidence", the police said. "In the period after this serious crime, no similar car was found burning or burned anywhere."
The police are still looking for the perpetrator. After Wiersum's assassination was discussed on Opsporing Verzocht last week, the police received at least 15 tips regarding the case.
At the time of his murder, Wiersum was representing key witness Nabil B., a suspected criminal turned police informant. Over the past year, B. gave testimony against the criminal organization allegedly run by fugitive Ridouan Taghi. The key witness linked Taghi and his gang to at least nine separate murders.
The police take into account that Wiersum was assassinated because of his connection to B. The key witness has since gotten a new lawyer, whose identity will remain secret, according to NU.nl. After Wiersum's murder, people involved in the trial against Taghi were given extra security. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema recently said that this extra security, while obviously necessary, comes at the expense of the police capacity in the city.
