Until now, it was unclear exactly how Mellée died. RTV Oost previously revealed that three bullets had been fired at him, but not whether they had all hit their target.
An investigation by a forensic anatomist has shown that on July 2, 2018, he was not murdered before six o’clock in the evening, but rather around 9.30 in the evening. The investigator leaves some space until midnight. There’s a good chance Mellée was asleep at the time, especially since he’d made it through the night before.
cowardly act
In addition, the victim was a strong man who did not allow himself to be caught off guard without a fight. According to acquaintances, he would certainly have fought back in the small bedroom of the house at Het Oosterveld where he was found. The detectives therefore think that he was shot in his sleep. “An extremely cowardly act,” say bystanders.
Two suspects are incarcerated for the murder of Daan Mellée, his girlfriend Debbie and a comrade. An anonymous witness went to the police last year and said that that comrade, Daniel V, pulled the trigger. Several traces of him have been found in the house at Het Oosterveld.
Incidentally, Daniel V. denies committing the murder. He does say that he was in the house the night before the murder on behalf of his friend Debbie, to check if Mellée was there. Mellée had knocked Debbie’s teeth out during an argument, and she was afraid he was in the house.
Prove
According to the detectives, Debbie is involved in the murder, because after that assault, according to a witness, she would have shouted that ‘Daan would die’. Her DNA was also found on a bullet casing at the crime scene and there were gunpowder traces on a vest that she had worn. A friend of Debbie is said to have said in a wiretapped telephone conversation that Debbie was ‘the client’.
But there are more notable statements. When so-called ‘shooting hands’ were taken from Debbie by the detectives about ten hours after the body was found, she is said to have said: “Do you know how much later you are?” But at the time, the police definitely didn’t know “how much later” they were, because they had no idea yet of the time of death.
Incidentally, the samples taken from Debbie’s hands have never been examined for the presence of gunpowder marks. It turned out afterwards that there was indeed too much time between murder and taking evidence.
In an overheard phone conversation between Debbie and a friend, Debbie is referred to as “murderer.” According to the detectives, this is striking, because they normally always use k-swear words.
DNA and gunpowder trails
The court considered and extended Debbie’s pre-trial detention last week. Much to the dismay of her lawyer Wenzel Tuma. According to him, it is not surprising that his client’s DNA was found on the shell casing, because she lived in the house where the victim was found. “Her DNA is all over the house and may have gotten onto the sleeve through secondary transmission.”
It is also unclear, according to him, how the gunpowder traces got on the vest. In Tuma’s view, it is also possible that the traces came on it while the vest was lying on a pile of laundry in the next room. According to Tuma, the friend who called Debbie ‘the client’ in a wiretapped telephone conversation later said to the detective that she “sucked it up”.
Next week, Debbie and Daniel V. are due to appear in public for the first time in court. The Public Prosecution Service will then announce the status of the investigation. The court will also consider whether the suspects will be detained for longer.
RTV Oost crime reporter Tom Meerbeek made a podcast series about the case called ‘Moord op het Oosterveld’. The series can be listened to on all well-known podcast apps.
