Mario Z., chief suspect in the case of Soufian Lahnstein, who was liquidated in Maastricht in late 2013, is free due to an error by the public prosecutor's office. Due to his own blunder, the public prosecutor in the Limburg capital had no choice but to let the Belgian go home yesterday.
"Suspect Mario Z. should have received a summons to appear at the hearing. It appears that this did not happen and that this person is at large," press officer Resie Peters acknowledged to The Telegraph. "That is an omission, we are looking into how this could have happened." Serge Weening, lawyer of Mario Z., referred to the conduct of prosecutor David van Kuppeveld in this matter as "not smart.
He failed to properly summon our client by letter for a hearing, as is required by law. If you then fail to do this, someone suspected of committing murder is thus released. The prosecution should have been more careful." Soufian Lahnstein (28) was liquidated on Dec. 1, 2013, on the Oeverwal on the outskirts of Maastricht city center. A man in Albania is still in custody in the case who may have played a role in Lahnstein's death.
