Marianne Vaatstra was found murdered in a meadow on May 1, 1999. The circumstances surrounding the murder of the sixteen-year-old girl gradually became clear after the suspect Jasper S. was arrested years later and ultimately tried in the spring of 2013. In the farm of the Frisian man, who lived in the neighboring village of Marianne Vaatstra, it is pocket knife found: it turned out to be the murder weapon.
Kept the murder weapon all this time
- Pocket knife
- Murder of Marianne Vaatstra
- Shut up
- Responsible
- Punishment
- Father Bauke Vaatstra
- Eye contact
- File
- Letter from Jasper
Pocket knife
In November 2012, a pocket knife was found during a search of Jasper S.’s house in Ouwoude, with which Marianne Vaatstra’s throat was slit. A Herder pocket knife, foldable. Forensic research points to this knife as the murder weapon. The facts were reported during the pro forma hearing in the courtroom in Leeuwarden on February 27, 2013. That hearing lasted fifteen minutes. The case was not dealt with further in substance. This will happen in the court hearing that will take place on March 28, 2013. The suspect did not speak during the preliminary hearing. He only confirmed his name, address and date of birth. Jasper S. will speak extensively during the hearing of March 28, 2013.
Murder of Marianne Vaatstra
Public Prosecutor Henk Mous charged 45-year-old Jasper S. with murder and rape. Lawyer Jan Vlug argues for manslaughter, because there was no premeditation.
Keningswei
The night after Queen’s Day 1999, S. Marianne Vaastra stopped on the Keningswei, the Koningsweg, near Veenklooster. At gunpoint, he took her into the meadow. There he raped the girl, forced her to perform sexual acts, strangled her with her bra and then slit her throat with his pocket knife. More details will be known during the hearing of March 28, 2013.
Shut up
Jasper S. confessed to his crime on December 6, 2012. He had been in custody for three weeks since his arrest on November 18, 2012 and remained silent during those weeks. On December 6, he made a full confession. The DNA match provided proof that he is the perpetrator and the knife is important supporting evidence.
Responsible
A psychologist, psychiatrist and social-environmental rapporteur have reported about Jasper S. that S. is accountable. They do not consider further investigation in the Pieter Baan Center necessary. For the suspect, this means that he cannot receive a TBS. This measure is only available for perpetrators who are not mentally healthy. The Public Prosecution Service and lawyer Vlug agree with this conclusion and do not demand a PBC investigation. Jasper S. fully cooperated with the research.
Punishment
What punishment Jasper receives depends on the trial that starts on March 28, 2013. The maximum penalty he faces is life imprisonment. Fast treatment is to be expected, after all:
- there is a confessing suspect;
- there is clarity about accountability;
- there is legal and convincing evidence:
- DNA
- pocket knife
Father Bauke Vaatstra
Father Bauke Vaatstra, who drew attention to the case for almost fourteen years until it was resolved, was present at the pre-trial hearing on February 27, 2013. He sat behind the suspect, together with Marianne’s mother and her brothers and sisters, and looked at his back. It was the first confrontation between relatives and the murder suspect. Father Vaatstra looked up from the figure of the man: “A schlemiel, as far as his stature is concerned. I imagined him very differently, bigger.”
Eye contact
Vaatstra wants to look his daughter’s killer in the eye, but S. did not give him the opportunity to do so that day. He did not make eye contact and did not look around when entering or leaving the room. Vaatstra wants to visit the man from Oudwoude in prison. “I want to hear from his own mouth what he did.”
Score stick
It has not yet been confirmed that Jasper S. is no longer on his list. It has emerged that the man regularly cycled to Groningen to visit the whores. Once he was caught for joyriding. Even then he was said to have been on his way to a prostitute. His involvement in the murder of prostitutes in the city of Groningen has been investigated and it has been established through DNA research that this is not the case.
File
Three judges sat behind the table of the pro forma hearing:
- Bert Dölle;
- Kees Post;
- Christine Koelman.
Also present were:
- public prosecutor Henk Mous;
- lawyer of the suspect, Jan Vlug.
The file on this case, which has been dragging on for fourteen years, is relatively thin. Four binders, everything is in there.
Letter from Jasper
Jasper S. looks ,almost shockingly normal,, writes journalist Jantien de Boer of the Leeuwarder Courant. He is ,remarkably inconspicuous,, says Cor Reijenga, leader of the detective team. Since the murder, not a day went by that Jasper S. did not think of Marianne Vaatstra. He hid his deed behind a thick oak door with a lock, reports lawyer Jan Vlug. And: ,He’s ready to settle., Jasper S. is working on a letter to the relatives.
read more
- Marianne Vaatstra – Arrest of the murderer
- Marianne Vaatstra – Jasper’s confession after DNA research
- Marianne Vaatstra – Details about the murder investigation
- Marianne Vaatstra – Her brothers and sisters
- Marianne Vaatstra – Jasper S. and the lawsuit