Overview
- The higher-appeal hearing began Tuesday in an extra-secure Rotterdam courtroom where the Public Prosecution Service seeks to reverse the 2020 acquittals of four men linked to the 2009 killing of Onno Kuut.
- The court reaffirmed that fresh forensic tests produced no decisive results, with no usable DNA and cleaned crime-scene traces remaining a central weakness for the prosecution.
- Prosecutors point to new witness statements and intercepted SKY ECC messages as key developments they say bolster the case, while defence lawyers call the appeal hopeless and criticise long delays.
- One main suspect, Cor P., cut off his electronic ankle monitor and fled in 2020, was identified after a 2022 shooting in the Dominican Republic and has since been extradited and jailed for drugs and weapons offences.
- The victim’s sister spoke in court about her brother’s life and loss, and investigators cite possible motives tied to a botched earlier killing and disputes with associates in criminal networks, underscoring the case’s broader links to organised violence.