35 years and 8 months after Duncan Zwakke disappeared without a trace, a 63-year-old man from Zutphen appeared in court today on suspicion of murder. Zwakke, then 31 years old, was last seen on Tuesday, October 17, 1989, in the center of Zutphen. The Public Prosecution Service claims that it is the suspect who murdered him and today demands a prison sentence of 12 years in one of the oldest cold case cases in the Netherlands: “The legal evidence was already in the file in 1989.”
In the introduction of his plea, the public prosecutor indicated to the multiple judges in Zutphen that this criminal case is not an easy one: “It is a charge of murder without a body. Without any incriminating forensic evidence against the suspect. And it concerns an accusation of a fact that occurred in 1989. Just that last fact makes it complicated.”
The time lapse of over 3.5 decades makes it difficult to reconstruct. “1989 is ‘longer than I can remember’ ago,” said the public prosecutor. “Lubbers was prime minister, Reagan was stepping down. The Wall fell in Berlin. I no longer know what the world looked like in 1989. What kind of clothing did Zwakke wear? How much traffic was there on the road, what do I imagine about the gym where the suspect might have been, or the basement under the restaurant? I simply no longer have an easily recallable environment from 1989 in which I can easily imagine the relevant behaviors and see the killing of Zwakke by the suspect and the disposal of the body.”
Yet, in the eyes of the Public Prosecution Service, there are no other realistic scenarios (such as suicide or voluntary disappearance abroad) possible, except that Zwakke was killed and that the Zutphen resident who appeared in court today must be held responsible for it. “Zwakke was fully alive. He had a relationship and there were clear plans for the future; there was talk of a new home and he was moving.”
The most important evidence that the Public Prosecution Service presented to the court today is a statement made by a witness to the police in November 1989. This witness stated that the suspect told him a few weeks after Zwakkes disappearance how he killed his victim: he allegedly lured Zwakke to a basement restaurant to have a safe installed and shot Zwakke dead there. Using a meat grinder that was hastily ordered – which then also disappeared without a trace – the suspect presumably disposed of his victims body. A ladder in the basement was found to have been shortened after the fateful night, which may indicate that traces needed to be erased.
The statement of this witness has been tested and verified for reliability by the Public Prosecution Service in this new investigation. The Public Prosecution Service concludes that it meets the requirements: for example, the witness did not initially approach the police himself but passed the story on to a third person, who then approached the police, after which the witness reported himself. The witness also had no personal interest in testifying.
The public prosecutor: “In principle, this statement, made a little over three weeks after Zwakkes disappearance, is just as valuable as if he had made it yesterday. And in principle, we must weigh that statement in the core in the same way as a statement made today. Critically considered. Certainly. But above all because a lot depends on it. Not because it is a statement from 1989. That should not matter.”
Moreover, there are research results that confirm and thus anchor the story of this witness. The suspect had access to a pistol and ordered a meat grinder that had to be delivered urgently. And it was the suspect who shortened the ladder in the relevant basement. The file also contains statements from other witnesses to whom the suspect partially told his story. Those statements have also been completely reassessed in the investigation.
The suspect and the missing victim had an appointment on that October day in 1989 and spent the day together. Within that timeframe, Zwakke disappeared and thus it is the suspect who has heard the last sign of life from the victim. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect has no credible alibi. All things considered, the Public Prosecution Service is convinced that it must have been the suspect who murdered Zwakke.
A previous criminal investigation regarding the murder of Zwakke, with the same person designated as a suspect, was previously discontinued by the Public Prosecution Service.
Normally, a person cannot be prosecuted twice for the same criminal offense. In 1989, police and justice explicitly adhered to the adage no body, no criminal offense. That has changed over the years: prosecution without a corpse, as was brought before the court today by the Public Prosecution Service, is now indeed possible.
The reopening of the investigation took place with the permission of the examining magistrate of the court. The suspect can thus, after a previous dismissal due to lack of evidence, be prosecuted again. At that time, the Public Prosecution Service now states, there was already enough evidence in the criminal file. The public prosecutor argued today that with the file as it now stands, a prosecution would also be initiated today.
In March 2024, the police conducted new forensic research, including in a basement space on Nieuwstad in Zutphen. There, they searched for traces of the victim and traces that could provide evidence of violence against him. That yielded nothing.
The suspect was arrested in April last year. After an initial pro forma hearing, he was released by the court because the court saw no serious objections anymore. The Zutphen resident was allowed to await the investigation and the substantive handling of the criminal case in freedom.
Today in court, the public prosecutor demanded a prison sentence that must be viewed in light of the penal climate of 1989: “Nowadays, murders are punished with prison sentences between 18 and 22 years, where something of a planned settlement seems to be at stake. That is a trend that sentences have taken especially in the last 10 years. There are rulings to be pointed out from 2010-2015 in which a starting point for murder between 12 and 15 years is imposed. All of this makes the Public Prosecution Service request that the suspect be sentenced to an unconditional prison sentence of 12 years.”