MAASTRICHT - Rhonda K. from Schinveld was sentenced yesterday to twelve years in prison for complicity in the murder of her ex-boyfriend Ger Douven. The man who confessed to having shot Douven, professional soldier Harold R. from Heerlen, must go to the Pieter Baan Center (PBC) for investigation. The court in Maastricht issued an interlocutory ruling in his case because, despite an examination of his mental faculties by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, it gained "insufficient insight" into his personality. The prosecution had demanded against R. 18 years plus tbs with compulsory treatment for this so-called "trunk murder. Three suspects received eight, nine and 10-year prison sentences.
The court finds proven that all six suspects (four women and two men) contributed to the killing of Douven. His charred body was found in the trunk of a burned-out car near Puth-Schinnen on March 12, 2003. He appeared to have been shot during a furlough from prison, where he was serving three years for drug trafficking. R. received 13,500 euros for the murder.
According to the court, all suspects were involved in the weeks-long planning and plotting of the murder, except 24-year-old Andrea van der K. She was given 360 days, 133 of which were suspended, so she does not have to return to prison because she has already served this sentence on remand. However, she does have to complete a community service and apprenticeship. According to the court, principal Rhonda K., executor Harold R. and his girlfriend Marie-José P. from Opgrimbie, Belgium, are guilty of co-perpetration of murder. All three were also present at the murder. P., who also provided the murder weapon, was sentenced to ten years. Two other defendants, Tiny H. and her son Roy H, were sentenced to eight and nine years, respectively, for incitement to murder. The court ruled that Rhonda K. primarily had a financial motive to kill Douven (he wanted his money back that she had in her custody) and charged her with that severely. K. herself states that she was violently oppressed by Douven for ten years and could not leave him.
Counsel C. Kornivus of Harold R. expressed satisfaction: he had asked for a counter-expertise by behavioral experts, because the reports on R. that are now there are, according to him, severely substandard.
Tiny H's attorney S. Weening immediately announced he would appeal. "One year more than demanded. Only because she asked her son if he didn't know someone who wanted to get rid of Douven. That really can't be done".
