For the in-laws of Jan Elzinga from Marum, who was murdered in 2012, it is make or break on Thursday. Will their long prison sentences remain or will the court in Leeuwarden acquit them?
Elzinga’s girlfriend, her brother and mother ordered the shooting of a motor sportsman at the local swimming pool in July 2012, the Public Prosecution Service firmly believes. The three still maintain that they had nothing to do with the liquidation.
They face stiff penalties. Monique H. (44) and brother Marcel (42) face 20 years in prison for their alleged active role in the organization of the murder-for-hire. Mother Coby van der L. (62) is said to have paid for a weapon, among other things, and was asked to serve a 17-year prison sentence.
Long-running case gaining momentum
The long-running case gained momentum after the man who took the murder assignment in 2012 and transferred to the justice system while in custody. As a key witness, Willem P. Glashard pointed out Elzinga’s in-laws as an evil genius and was pardoned for this.
His image suffered a major blow when it turned out that he had provided false evidence. He composed text messages with Marcel about the murder himself, for which he received a year and a half in prison for perjury.
Nevertheless, at the end of 2022, the court in Groningen sentenced the in-laws to 20 years in prison, because they believed the rest of P.’s story. His statements were supported by text messages between the in-laws in the run-up to the murder and overheard conversations afterwards.
Everything or nothing
It seems all or nothing on Thursday. The in-laws’ lawyers argued for an acquittal. According to them, the key witness is completely unreliable and there is no evidence for the guilt of the suspects.
Elzinga’s family hopes that “justice will be done to Jan” on Thursday, his sister Els said in court in February. “It is confirmed that no one was allowed to dispose of Jan’s life.”
Dagblad van het Noord will report on the ruling on Thursday afternoon from 1.15 pm www.dvhn.nl in a live blog.
