The court in Zutphen acquitted two men, aged 54 and 51, on Monday in the 25-year-old cold case of Tonny ter Horst. According to the court, there is not enough evidence to convict the men of murder.
Ter Horst was shot dead on October 9, 2000, at the age of 34 by two fleeing robbers in the Gelderland village of Terborg. He died in the arms of his sister, who had heard the sound of the shots from her house. The robbers had just robbed a coffee shop. The coffee shop owner was also shot dead.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded prison sentences of twelve and sixteen years last month against the men, who come from Doetinchem and Didam. But the court ruled on Monday that there is insufficient evidence.
There are incriminating statements made by acquaintances of the men, but they were not present at the events in the coffee shop. Moreover, the statements were made between 2021 and 2024, more than twenty years after Ter Horst’s death. The court therefore wants to be careful with the statements.
The 51-year-old man from Doetinchem was already convicted in 2001 for the robbery. Three years later, he and two others were acquitted on appeal. The 54-year-old suspect from Didam was a suspect at the time, but was never prosecuted due to lack of evidence.
Case received attention again in 2020
After that, it remained silent around the case for a long time, until a witness reported to crime journalist Peter R. de Vries in 2020. It was the brother of the suspect, who made an incriminating statement in 2021.
In March 2024, the police reopened the case after new information was received. In that same month, Opsporing Verzocht broadcast live from Terborg to bring the case to the attention. The two men were arrested in April.
The 51-year-old man could not be prosecuted again for the death of the coffee shop owner, but was prosecuted this time for the death of Ter Horst. The 54-year-old man stood trial on Monday for the death of both victims.