AMSTERDAM - The suspect who was arrested in the murder case of the Dutch reporter Peter R. de Vries is a Curaçaoan. It concerns 34-year-old Ludgardo S. He has previously been convicted of a fatal robbery. A month ago, his brother was shot dead at a gas station in Tilburg, after the funeral of rapper Boechi. Sources close to the investigation confirm this. He is the eighth suspect arrested in the case. The police and the judiciary suspect that he was part of the "criminal collaboration" that was involved in preparing the murder of the crime reporter. The Curaçaoan may have been involved in preliminary reconnaissance.
The suspect has built up a reputation with the police for heavy violence. In 2011, he and his brother and two friends were involved in a fatal robbery at a phone shop in Vlaardingen. After a struggle with the owner of the store, the four fled and fired a gunshot once. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and fatally hit a customer in the head. The victim was on the phone with his fiancée at the time. Ludgardo was sentenced to eight years in prison.
At a traffic check in 2018, he was caught with a firearm. After he and his brother were pulled over in Rotterdam, he quickly tried to hide the gun under the pedals. In vain, agents found the – loaded – weapon. It earned him six months in prison. Other convictions included theft and driving without a license or with too much alcohol.
Ludgardo S. lost his older brother Lucho a month ago. He was shot dead on December 21 when he was refueling at an Esso gas station in Tilburg. Shortly after the shooting, the police arrested six suspects, the suspected shooter reported to the police the same evening.
According to a witness, the shooter and the victim ran after each other until one of the two started shooting. Lucho was hit several times at close range and died on the spot. Immediately there were rumors that the shooting was related to the commemoration of the deceased rapper Boechie earlier that day in Tilburg. The two may have bumped into each other there. They would have been arguing for some time.