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Dutch Prosecutors Seek 12-Year Sentence for Werner de R. in 2017 Tilburg Killing

Prosecutors say DNA under Hennie de Laat’s fingernails implicates the longtime house‑friend.

Overview

  • The Breda hearing centers on an eight-year-old case, with the prosecution saying it factored the investigation’s long delays into its sentencing demand.
  • Investigators place the killing between 8:40 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. on December 23, 2017, report Werner de R.’s DNA under the victim’s nails, and say his storage‑room alibi lacks independent confirmation.
  • The OM points to shifting statements and post‑crime behavior, including clubbing that night, late‑night searches for 112 calls, and a day spent unreachable with a large knife found in a car.
  • The case proceeds as manslaughter rather than murder due to no evidence of premeditation, and the motive remains unproven despite references to a dispute over a small cocaine debt.
  • Werner de R. denies any involvement; he was briefly held and then released in 2017 for lack of evidence, and the court is expected to deliver a verdict in about two weeks.