KRALENDIJK, Bonaire (OM) — The man who has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the death of the student who was found in April on Saba, has been released on July 27th, 2015.
However the Prosecution considers him still as a suspect. The evidence on which he was previously in custody is still valid, according to the Prosecutors Office.
On three previous occasions the magistrate issued an injunction to keep the man in custody, however this time he did not extend the suspect’s custody. Because the previously issued warrant to detain the suspect ended on July 27, the Prosecution has no legal basis to detain him any longer.
The investigation is far from over.
First the police and the Prosecutors Office continues to search for witnesses who can give any information about what happened that night or what the defendant did that night. The investigation team has indications that there are witnesses who have not yet told everything they know about this case, but these witnesses have still not spoken with the police.
In addition, the forensic investigation is still in progress. There are traces being examined by the Dutch Forensic Institute, among other useful DNA information. Many research results leads to new questions which lead to further investigation. Also, it is often necessary after the release of results. to conduct additional interviews with witnesses to interpret the results.
Under these circumstances, no final conclusions can be drawn on the circumstances. Because the suspect denies that he has anything to do with the death and the research does not give definitive conclusions, the judge has decided that the evidence in this case no longer justify the detention of the suspect. By this, the investigating judge shows a different interpretation of the case than the Prosecutors Office.
The Prosecution considers this decision of the magistrate also as a setback but stressed that the investigation is obviously continuing.
Also, as was the case up until now, not only the option will be investigated that the now freed suspect acted alone, but also other scenarios are still being investigated.
The cooperation with the authorities in Canada and the United States remains unchanged. Now, under the new circumstances, there is a revision of which additional investigation resources and detectives are needed. The Public Prosecution is still working with the Prosecutors Office in the Netherlands.
Public Prosecution and the police cannot give information about the whereabouts of the suspect after his release.
