The parents and sister of triple murder suspect Thijs H. (28) of Brunssum are invoking their right to remain silent.
They did not testify anything as witnesses before the examining magistrate, it emerged Tuesday morning during a pro forma hearing before the court in Maastricht. The prosecution does not expect them to talk during the substantive hearing, which begins June 22, said prosecutor Joan Holthuis. "It is pointless to summon them," she said.
She pleaded for the case to be heard as publicly as possible and for the public to be allowed into other courtrooms, where a video link would have to run. The court could not promise that, but president Marc Bax promised to take it into consideration during the deliberations on the proceedings during the substantive hearing, for which five days have been allotted.
Thijs H. confessed to killing three people in The Hague and Heerlen last May.
