Wittenberg murderer released from jail

A man jailed in one of the Netherlands’ most notorious murder cases in recent years was released from prison on Wednesday, still protesting his innocence.


Financial advisor Ernst Louwes was sentenced to 12 years in jail for murdering the elderly widow Jacqueline Wittenberg in 1999.
Louwes was originally cleared of the 1999 killing through lack of evidence, but was retried on appeal and sentenced on the basis of trace evidence and mobile phone records.
He staged a high profile campaign to get the case reopened but last year the high court finally ruled there were no grounds to do so.
‘Two people know that the High Court ruling is completely wrong,’ Louwes was reported as saying at the time by ANP. ‘That is the murderer and myself.’
See also
No knife found in Deventer grave

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation