NU.nl-journalist Joris Peters is releasing his first book on Thursday: The Swimming Pool Murder. The book about the well-known murder case from 2012 reveals the true story of the legal process in which the Public Prosecution Service made mistake after mistake.
The swimming pool murder case revolves around Jan Elzinga, who is shot dead on July 10, 2012, on his way to the swimming pool in Marum. It appears to be a cold-blooded liquidation in the Groningen village.
Shortly after the murder, the shooter is arrested, but the motive remains unclear for years. In 2016, the case is reopened when the man who is designated by the shooter as the client offers himself as a crown witness.
According to him, four people are behind the murder of Elzinga, including his then partner and her mother. The four are sentenced to prison terms, while during the trial it becomes clear that the crown witness has lied and falsified evidence.
An external investigation committee of the Public Prosecution Service (OM) presented its findings in April about the errors in the swimming pool murder case. But according to Peters, the real blunders of the police and justice system remain underexposed. “It is a missed opportunity that the Public Prosecution Service does not provide clarity to the citizen about what went wrong. Especially now that confidence in the government has been under high pressure for some time.”
The Swimming Pool Murder reveals the true story, based on thousands of pages of criminal files, police interrogations and exclusive interviews with those involved.
Peters previously made the podcast series The Swimming Pool Murder, which has been listened to more than a million times. His podcast The Secret of Mallorca was voted best journalistic podcast in 2023.