Prison sentences up to 7 years for fatal Mallorca beating; One convicted of manslaughter

The court in Lelystad imposed prison sentences of up to seven years in the Mallorca case, the criminal trial around the violent death of Carlo Heuvelman. The highest sentence went to Sanil B., the only suspect convicted of manslaughter in this case.

Sanil B. (20) was convicted based on witness statements and the victim’s DNA found on his shoe, among other things. "you made a terrible mistake that night and behaved with unprecedented violence," the court told B. There is not enough evidence of manslaughter against Mees T. (19) and Hein B. (19), the court ruled. They were acquitted of that charge. Suspect Martijn T. (20) was acquitted of all charges. All other suspects in the case were convicted, and most will see prison, the court said earlier on Friday morning.

“Senseless and extreme nightlife violence committed without cause,” the court summarized the case in its verdict. The court gave Sanil B. a lower sentence than the ten years the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded partly because of his young age and previously clean criminal record. According to the judge, B. did not intend to kill Heuvleman, but he did accept the risk of killing someone by going on such a violent rampage. B., like his co-defendants, denied that he did anything to Heuvelman. The court did not believe him.

According to the court, there was insufficient evidence to convict Mees T. and Hein B. of manslaughter. At the same time, the court assumes that Sanil B. committed manslaughter “with one or more others.” But who that was remains unknown. The court called that an “unsatisfactory result.” The OM demanded up to eight years in prison against T. and B. The court sentenced them to 30 months for the other violence they were involved in that night.

The court found that the community service orders demanded against the other suspects did not do justice to the severity of their crimes and the consequences thereof. It, therefore, gave them substantial and partially suspended prison sentences of 12 to 30 months. By order of the court, four suspects, including Sanil B., were immediately detained again on Friday.

The 27-year-old Heuvelman from Waddinxveen was beaten up at around 2:00 a.m. on 14 July 2021 on the boulevard of the seaside resort El Arenal in Mallorca. The perpetrators kicked him multiple times as he lay unconscious on the ground in front of bar De Bierexpress. He died four days later in the hospital due to a brain injury.

In addition to Heuvelman’s manslaughter, the suspects were also charged with a series of other violent acts, including attempted manslaughter during a fight at bar De Zaak. That incident preceded the confrontation in which Heuvelman was killed. Three suspects were convicted of this attempted manslaughter.