WILLEMSTAD - A team from the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) is in Curaçao to investigate the murder of a Chinese shopkeeper on Mirla Platéweg. The case involves the fatal robbery at Wah Mei minimarket on December 20, 2014, which has resurfaced due to claims of innocence by convicted individual Vernond Rombley.
Rombley was sentenced in 2015 to 15 years in prison and fined 45,000 guilders. The conviction was based partly on WhatsApp messages in which Rombley allegedly admitted responsibility for the robbery. However, Rombley has consistently claimed his innocence, asserting that the messages were mere bravado.
New Forensic Examination
The case was revisited in October 2023 as part of a review procedure initiated by Knoops’ Innocence Project. While the court declined to grant a retrial or release at this stage, it ordered additional forensic investigations by the NFI.
The NFI’s tasks include comparing the height of the perpetrator, as seen in surveillance footage, with Rombley’s height. This step follows concerns that previous measurements might have been methodologically flawed. The team is also analyzing discrepancies in physical features, such as the absence of dreadlocks on the suspect in the footage, despite Rombley having dreadlocks at the time.
The forensic investigation aims to identify all potential evidence that could contribute to a conclusive ruling on Rombley’s involvement in the crime.