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Peter R. de Vries (January 30, 2008): Who killed the crime reporter?
Photo: Peter Dejong / dpa
The journalist Peter R. de Vries was famous in the Netherlands.
His research put him in danger, most recently he was advising someone who had left organized crime.
Then he was shot - and possibly a notorious drug gang is behind the crime.
The most important questions and answers at the beginning of the process.
What happened?
It's July 6, 2021, around 7:30 p.m. in Amsterdam: the prominent crime reporter Peter R. de Vries is walking down Lange Leidsedwarsstraat from a TV studio to a parking garage.
Suddenly shots are fired, several bullets hit de Vries, at least one of them in the head.
The 64-year-old collapses and is taken to a hospital.
He dies there nine days later.
What is the process now?
The murder hit the Netherlands hard and caused horror - also because organized crime was blamed for the crime.
The two alleged contract killers Kamil E. and Delano G. are on trial. They are accused of murder and illegal possession of weapons.
Prosecutors asked for life imprisonment on Tuesday.
A notorious drug gang is linked to the murder.
The alleged clients are not currently in court in the case.
Investigators say the investigation is still ongoing.
Because attacks are still feared, the trial against E. and G. takes place under strict security precautions: All 88 witnesses remain anonymous.
The names of the prosecutors may not be mentioned either.
Who are the accused?
Shortly after de Vries was shot, investigators stopped two suspects on a freeway.
36-year-old Kamil E., a Pole residing in Maurik, is said to have driven the getaway car, and 22-year-old Rotterdam resident Delano G. shot de Vries.
The public prosecutor is convinced that both acted on behalf.
"We have strong evidence against the two suspects," prosecutor spokeswoman Mara van den Berg said.
Two weapons were found in the getaway car, a Renault Kadjar.
A submachine gun and a modified flare gun, the murder weapon.
There is also DNA evidence, camera images, fingerprints, witness statements, cell phones with incriminating messages.
"And there is even an eyewitness to the crime," said the spokeswoman.
Both men are said to have been seen at the scene days beforehand, presumably they were there to scout out the situation.
The alleged murderer G. keeps a low profile in court: "I don't want to say anything." The alleged getaway driver E. denies having known about the murder plans.
'I haven't murdered anyone.
I was just the driver,” he tells the court.
He picked up G. from Rotterdam and brought him to Amsterdam.
Who was Peter R. de Vries?
To understand the background of the case, you have to know Peter R. de Vries.
He was the leading crime reporter in the Netherlands.
He was a frequent guest on TV talk shows.
In the Netherlands he was probably as famous as Günther Jauch or Thomas Gottschalk in Germany.
In the past, de Vries was already under police protection because of his research into explosive cases.
But de Vries was not only a journalist.
He also appeared regularly as a spokesman for victims or witnesses at trials - and he was the confidant of a key witness.
What does organized crime have to do with murder?
It is the largest criminal case in the Netherlands: the alleged drug lord Ridouan Taghi - public enemy number one before his arrest - and 16 other people are on trial in Amsterdam for several murders and attempted murders.
According to experts such as Peter R. de Vries, Taghi's "Marengo" gang is said to have inflicted violence on the Dutch underworld.
Murder and drugs are said to have been their business.
Key witness Nabil B., who once worked for Taghi himself, put the investigators on the track.
After receiving death threats from Taghi, he decided to cooperate with the police.
Peter R. de Vries became his confidant.
But investigators may have underestimated Taghi's thirst for revenge.
When Nabil B. was publicly presented as a key witness, his brother was killed shortly thereafter.
And a few months later, B's lawyer, Derk Wiersum, was also shot dead.
When de Vries was also murdered, the connection to the gang trial seemed obvious.
The day after the shooting, Taghi's attorney denied that her client had anything to do with the shooting of de Vries.
The allegations against him lacked any "factual justification," it said at the time.
What evidence is there?
According to prosecutors, encrypted mobile phone messages from defendants Kamil E. and Delano G. show that they communicated with an unknown person in Polish and Dutch.
On the day of the attack, he had sent photos of Peter R. de Vries: "You must have this dog." - "I'll do it solo," Delano G. is said to have replied: "I'll finish it." After the murder, he reported sent to the stranger.
According to investigators, one message read: "He is dead ... Everyone is screaming.
He hasn't moved."
But it is unclear who the stranger is, who is only given the code NN-*4229 in the process files, and whether he is the mastermind behind the murder.
There are currently no charges against the alleged backers of the crime.
What do the relatives say?
Royce and Kelly de Vries, the adult children of Peter R. de Vries, testified in court.
“I'm sure if those suspects had asked my father for help that night, he would have helped them.
They pulled the trigger instead," said son Royce, according to Dutch TV broadcaster NOS.
And daughter Kelly addressed the accused directly: “You took one of my parents away from me.
And why?
Because you didn't agree with him?
Because someone offered you money?”
How does the process continue?
The accused remain silent or deny the allegations.
Her lawyers are due to speak at a separate hearing next week.
The verdict is due on July 14.
ptz/dpa/Reuters
