Three women, two men sentenced to up to 15 years for Dutchman's murder on Curacao

On Wednesday, the court in Curacao sentenced three women and two men between the ages of 23 and 33 for the murder of Dutchman Mike Venema (53) in 2018. The main suspect, Suyati M., was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while 18 years had been demanded against her. Eurodis J. was sentenced to 12 years, Shahier P. to 7 years, and Ervinella F. to 30 months in prison. Shakir C. was sentenced to juvenile detention because he was 16 at the time of the murder.

Mike Venema was murdered on 12 September 2018 in a house in Jan Sofat. After he was abused and eventually murdered, the suspects put his body in a pick-up truck and drove it to a remote location on the north side of the island. They then drove the car into the water with his body behind the wheel. It was not until six months later that a diver discovered the pick-up with the victim’s remains on the seabed.

The investigation into Venema’s murder only really started moving after the Peter R. de Vries Foundation offered a reward of 100,000 euros over a year ago. The suspects were arrested shortly afterward, some in Curacao and some in the Netherlands.

According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), the last moments of Venema’s life were “a true hell.” He fought for his life, was drugged, abused, hit by a car, and given an injection that ultimately killed him.

The press in Curacao wrote extensively about the case. Venema was killed in a luxury residential area of Jan Sofet where a “sex pool party” had been organized for him with young women. However, the five suspects conspired against Venema. They were allegedly out to rob him, but eventually killed him.

The suspects have two weeks to appeal.