Family still grieving DJ Djordy Latumahina 5 years after mistaken ID killing

The girlfriend and parents of DJ Djordy Latumahina made impressive victim statements at the court in Amsterdam on Monda y about the impact of the mistaken-identity murder of their boyfriend and son.

Latumahina (31) was shot dead in his car on 8 October 2016 in a parking garage on Koningin Wilhelminaplein in Amsterdam-West. His girlfriend was seriously hurt, their 2-year-old daughter was uninjured. According to the judiciary, the perpetrators mistook Latumahina for their actual target.

Referring to photos of her lengthy rehabilitation and the scars and disability she was left with from the shooting, Latumahina's girlfriend said at the appeal: "My body and my life have been destroyed. The battle I had to endure, physically and mentally, has been very tough." It remains difficult for her to accept that the attempt on their lives was intended for someone else. "We miss Djor every day. He really was the best partner and daddy you could wish for."

Over time, their daughter developed anger and panic attacks, the young girl's mother said. "She still remembers things and wonders: 'Did daddy do something wrong? Why did those men shoot him?' He has been taken from her life and will not see her grow up. That hurts."

Djordy's parents showed the court a video of highlights from their son's life. "More than five years after the mistaken identity murder of my son, I am where I do not want to be," said his father. "It seems like a long time ago, but it's like it happened yesterday. Every time I think: what a good father you would have been."

In 2018, the court imposed prison sentences of 30, 26, 18, and 15 years on four men for the DJ's murder and the attempted murder of his girlfriend and daughter. On appeal, three men on trial, including Tony D. (38), who the Public Prosecution Service regards as one of the two shooters. The court acquitted him after the Prosecutor demanded 30 years in prison against him. The other defendants on appeal are Wendell R. (50), sentenced to 15 years after a 25 years demand, and Ulrich B. (48). The Prosecutor believes he drove the getaway car. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison after a 25 years demand.

The Public Prosecution Service demanded between 20 and 23 years in prison against the three men on trial. "They shot at people they didn't know. The people in that car did not stand a chance. A happy family was blown to pieces," the advocate-general said during a 2.5 hour inquest.

In May this year, a man was arrested in Spain who allegedly ordered the murder. His case is still pending at the court in Amsterdam.