“A cold-blooded liquidation,” calls the Public Prosecution Service Limburg (OM) the death of the 55-year-old man who was shot in the head on Saturday, December 23, 2023, at the Markt in Geleen. Although the facts surrounding the shooting are clear, the reason why the man had to die remains unanswered. Today, the OM demands twenty-eight years imprisonment against a 33-year-old man from Nuth for his involvement in the murder. In addition, the OM suspects the man of attempted manslaughter, committed a few minutes after the shooting incident in Geleen, as well as leaving the scene of an accident causing damage to another party.
The motive behind the murder is still unclear. “The suspect chooses to remain silent. To deny. To hide behind an alleged gap in his memory,” says the public prosecutor in court. “Even after confrontation with all investigation results and the camera footage, which shows that he acted calmly and calculatingly, the suspect dares to say: “I know myself that I could never hurt anyone, because I know who I am. I hate violence.” “Incomprehensible. From the extensive (forensic) investigation by the police, supported by camera footage and phone data, the OM concludes that there is a premeditated plan,” says the public prosecutor.
Outstretched arm
The day before Christmas, late in the afternoon, the victim arrives at the Markt in Geleen. He parks his car there and visits a hospitality venue. When he leaves shortly after, he walks towards his car. A few seconds later, a person walks with an outstretched arm towards the left front side of the car in question. Then this person walks back to the vehicle from which he came and drives away at high speed. When the police arrive, the victim lies on the ground on the drivers side of the car. He dies from his injuries in the hospital.
Second crime scene
The police then start a large-scale investigation into the incident at Markt. In that investigation, the police are immediately surprised by a report of a second shooting incident, this time on the A76 near Nuth. According to the reporter, shots were fired from a black car at another vehicle. The police designate this location as a second crime scene. An important decision in the investigation, because both locations - as later research shows - have a close connection with each other and are a crucial link in the evidence construction. Although the shot vehicle very likely sustained damage, no one has reported to the police as a victim of this shooting incident.
Opel Corsa
The two mentioned incidents are not isolated: Two days later, on December 25, 2025, a woman reports to the police. She states that on December 25, 2023, around 9:50 PM, she was driving with her brother on Euregioweg in Landgraaf. When she wants to turn at the roundabout towards Homperstweg, she feels a hit against the left side of her car. The woman sees a black Opel Corsa in front of her. The driver tries to start, gets out and says: “Can we arrange this tomorrow? I have stuff with me.” Then he runs away towards Landgraaf. In the nearby area, the police arrest a person matching the given description. In his (rental) car was a rental contract in the name of the suspect. Alert employees of the police control room immediately link this to the shooting incident at the Markt in Geleen; a similar car was involved.
Camera footage
When analyzing the camera footage, the police establish that the shooters car at the Markt in Geleen is a black Opel Corsa. The trip logs of this car, the footage at these times showing the Opel, and the clothing description of the person in these images all point - in conjunction with the crime scene images and the clothing seized from the suspect - towards the suspect as the driver of the Opel Corsa. Besides the murder of the 55-year-old man in Geleen, the OM also considers proven that the suspect tried the same day to deliberately kill an unknown driver. He did this by shooting multiple times from a moving car at a passing car, while the execution was not completed.
Experts
The suspect is admitted for observation at the Pieter Baan Center (PBC). Experts from the PBC do not come to an advice on whether the charged offenses can be attributed to the suspect.
Long prison sentence
The severity of the crimes and all facts and circumstances justify, according to the OM, only a very long prison sentence. It must affect the suspect in what is most precious to him, his freedom. Compensation to do justice to what has hurt the relatives the most, the removal and attempted removal of their loved ones.
The judge will give a verdict in the case on December 15.
