Police admit to making big mistakes in run-up to Weiteveen double homicide
The police made multiple big mistakes in the run-up to the double murder in Weiteveen on 16 January 2025, the police admit in an evaluation report published on Friday. They underestimated risks, failed to revoke the perpetrator’s gun permit, and didn’t link the many reports in the case to each other.
Richard K. is suspected of killing 44-year-old Ineke Mussche and her husband, 38-year-old Przemyslaw "Sam" Czerniawski, in the home that they bought from him in Weiteveen. They were in a heated year-long conflict about the home, which was said to be in a worse state than advertised. K. first killed Ineke, who was sitting in her car outside the house. He then went to the home and fatally shot Sam. The couple’s 12-year-old son witnessed the murder.
The man confessed to killing the married couple in a long-ongoing feud about a house they bought from him. K. had a firearms permit, but he used illegally acquired weapons for the murders.
“We as police did not meet our professional standards. I find that particularly painful and regret it,” said Martin Sitalsing, the police chief of the Noord-Nederland unit. According to him, it is impossible to say whether these murders could have been prevented. “But the evaluation makes it clear that we should have acted differently.”
Approximately 80 reports were made to the police about this conflict. They mainly involved accusations of defamation, harassment, and threats. The police interpreted many reports as separate incidents, not linking them together and, therefore, failing to realize that the dispute was escalating.
The various police departments did not work together enough and did not record and share information properly. “Each department records things in its own way. Some do not record anything at all. These signals were never brought together and there was no direction when it came to assessing risks,” Sitalsing said.
K.’s had a hunting firearm permit since 2004. In the summer of 2023, his partner reported to the police that K. had a brain disorder that could cause him to get overstimulated easily. The police placed him on a list for people with a gun permit where “something unusual” was at play, intending to visit him and check if his permit should be revoked. It never got that far.
An officer visited K. based on a different report but was unaware of the gun permit and did not ask about it. The officer responsible for checking up on K. regarding the gun permit was unable to reach him and “no further action was taken,” the report states.
Several charges and accusations filed against K. were not followed up. “This was assessed together with the Public Prosecution Service (OM). It was decided that it did not have a high enough priority or that criminal prosecution was not possible,” Sitalsing said. “But it is only when you add it all up that you see how serious the situation was.”
One of the victims asked about the status of a report and was told that it was still being processed. In reality, the report had already been closed. Several reports were also made to the police because of the children involved and concerns for their safety. Those reports also went nowhere.
The investigators recommended that the police place incidents in a broader context more quickly, and improve its information registration and cooperation between departments and external parties, including the OM and municipalities.
Sitalsing said he realizes the improvements come too late for the victims and their loved ones. “No matter what we learn and how we improve as a result of this evaluation, the relatives will not get their loved ones back. That loss is irreparable.”
K. will stand trial for the murders of Ineke Mussche and Przemyslaw Czerniawski on February 12 and 13.
