Killing of Nicole van den Hurk: Difference between revisions

Killing of Nicole van den Hurk
Date	c. 6 October 1995 (body discovered 22 November 1995)
Location	Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands
Type	Homicide
Burial	28 November 1995; Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands
Suspects	Andy van den Hurk (1996, 2011); Ad van den Hurk (1996); Jos de G. (2014–2016)
Accused	Jos de G.
Charges	Rape, manslaughter
Trial	2 November 2015 – 21 November 2016
Verdict	Guilty (rape); Innocent (manslaughter)
Sentence	5 years' imprisonment

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On 6 October 1995, fifteen-year-old Nicole van den Hurk disappeared on her way to work in Eindhoven, in the Dutch province of North Brabant. Her body was found in the woods between Mierlo and Lierop on 22 November.

After being closed in 1996, the case was re-opened in March 2011 after Van den Hurk's stepbrother confessed to killing her.^[3] He was released a month later due to a lack of evidence and later retracted his confession, saying he made it to get Nicole's body exhumed.^[4] After the remains were exhumed in September 2011, DNA collected from the remains and from the crime scene linked the crime to a man identified as Jos de G., who was arrested in January 2014.^[5]^[6] Charged with rape and manslaughter, De G. was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of rape in November 2016, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.^[2]

Background

Nicole van den Hurk was born on 4 July 1980 in Erkelenz, Rhineland, Germany, to Angelika Tegtmeier.^[7]^[8] In 1982, they moved to Veldhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands, with Tegtmeier's boyfriend, Dutch singer Ad van den Hurk, whom Tegtmeier married in Eindhoven later that year. Nicole's biological father was a German man married to another woman. After Tegtmeier and Nicole moved in with Ad, Ad was legally recognised as Nicole's father, and after Ad and Tegtmeier divorced in 1989, Ad won custody of Nicole.^[7]^[8] At the time of her disappearance, Nicole lived with Ad and his wife Jolanda,^[8] and was staying at her grandmother's house in Tongelre.^[9]

Disappearance and search

Van den Hurk left her grandmother's house in Tongelre in the early morning of Friday, 6 October 1995, and began cycling to Woensel shopping centre [nl], where she was working a holiday job at the bakery.^[10] When she did not arrive at work, her boss telephoned her, and received no response.^[10] At 18:00, a team of police officers searching for her found her bicycle in the river Dommel, close to Eindhoven's water treatment plant. Between then and 10 October, a team of divers from the local fire brigade searched the Dommel around the area; the police questioned Van den Hurk's family and friends, along with a group of five children whom they had detained for violence towards cyclists and pedestrians on the Wasvenpad, where she was last seen and near where her bicycle was found; a platoon of policemen from the Mobiele Eenheid [nl] searched for clues in the Eckart forest near the water treatment plant and from a police plane and students at Van den Hurk's school were questioned. On 11 October, two of the Dommel's overflow drains were searched, following a tip from a psychic consulted by Van den Hurk's stepparents, to no avail. By this time the police had almost a hundred tips. The river banks of the Dommel between the Wasvenpad and the channel in Son were searched on 17 October. After finding no trace of Van den Hurk, the team stopped searching the Dommel.^[1]

The police received a letter from an anonymous sender reporting a sighting of a car on the Wasvenpad around the time Van den Hurk disappeared.^[1]^[10] During the time she was missing, the police also investigated in Germany, questioning her extended family. On Thursday, 19 October, Van den Hurk's rucksack was found in the berm between Eindhoven's DAF-complex and the Kanaaldijk-Zuid.^[1] The following day the police searched the Eindhovensch Kanaal with a sniffer dog and then its south side. On 25 October, the number of tips increased following a broadcast of TV programme Crime International by RTL 4.^[10]^[1] During the weekend of 28–29 October, on the initiative of TV programme Deadline, broadcast by TROS, detectives again searched the areas they had searched between 6 and 20 October.^[1] By 7 November, the police had received 250 tips. There were strong suspicions that Van den Hurk was in Germany and a substantial possibility that she had run away according to them; stepfather Ad did not believe this hypothesis. On 17 November, the corpse of a female found in Belgium was identified as not being Van den Hurk's.^[10]^[1] A further forty tips were received on 20 November after a broadcast of TV programme Hier en Nu [nl], and the following day friends of the Van den Hurk family announced the founding of Opsporing Vermiste Kinderen, which aimed to collect money to print pamphlets with Nicole's picture.^[1]

On Wednesday, 22 November, six-and-a-half weeks after Van den Hurk's disappearance, a passerby found her corpse in the woods between Mierlo and Lierop.^[8]^[11] She was buried on 28 November at a funeral attended by approximately one thousand mourners.^[12] The Public Prosecution believed that she most likely died from a stab wound which caused internal bleeding, but the exact cause of death was never determined.^[13]

Investigation and arrests

The police had received a telephone call on 24 October 1995 from an anonymous caller who said they knew the name of Van den Hurk's killer, but the call was disconnected before they could give details. An unsuccessful attempt was made to trace the caller by national television in January 1996.^[10] Later, with the investigation stagnating, the team of detectives was reduced to four.^[10]^[1] In February, Celine Hartogs, a girl from Eindhoven arrested in Miami for drug trafficking who knew the Van den Hurk family, told police that she had been forced to smuggle heroin by men who she said were involved in Nicole's death.^[1] Hartogs was questioned in Miami in March before she returned to the Netherlands.^[1]^[14] The police said her story was flawed and did not help the investigation. Meanwhile, Passie magazine offered a sum of money for details of the killer, and it was suggested on TROS programme Deadline that Van den Hurk could have been killed by the same person who killed another girl from Eindhoven, Manuela van Beek.^[1] Between May and June, Van den Hurk's stepbrother Andy and stepfather Ad were arrested in connection with the killing, before being cleared of any involvement.^[1]^[10]^[11]

By 2011, Andy van den Hurk had moved to Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. On 8 March 2011, he wrote on Facebook that he had confessed to killing Nicole, and was subsequently arrested by British police.^[3]^[15] Ten days later, he appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on extradition proceedings,^[3] and the verdict was that he was to be extradited to the Netherlands after a seven-day period during which he was allowed to appeal.^[16] In an interview with Eindhovens Dagblad, his father, Ad, Nicole's stepfather, who was living in Spain, doubted the truthfulness of Andy's confession, saying he was "begging for attention".^[15]^[17] Three days after the verdict was passed he told Omroep Brabant that he believed his son was the killer;^[18] his ex-wife Jolanda van der Weijden disagreed with him about this.^[19] By 25 March, Andy had not appealed the decision,^[20] and was extradited to the Netherlands on 30 March and held at the police station on the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven for questioning.^[21]^[22] He appeared in the court of Den Bosch on 1 April, where the judge decided that he would be released, as the only evidence provided by the judiciary was the confession Andy posted on Facebook.^[23] The judiciary appealed the decision, but this was rejected^[24] and he was released on 5 April.^[25] Some days after his release, Andy retracted his confession, telling Omroep Brabant that he was "almost certain" that it was his father who killed Nicole, and that prior to her death, Ad had raped and impregnated her – these accusations were denied by Ad.^[26]^[27] In April 2016, Andy said in an interview that he falsely confessed to bring attention to the crime and get Nicole's body exhumed for DNA testing which could help solve the killing.^[4]

Van den Hurk's remains were exhumed on 9 September 2011 to allow the Netherlands Forensic Institute to examine them for DNA.^[28] On the same day, the reward for details about the killing was increased from 25,000 guilders to €15,000 by the judiciary.^[29] On 13 September, the police announced on AVRO TV programme Opsporing Verzocht [nl] that DNA had been found on the remains,^[29] and by 15 September they had received more than twenty new tips.^[30] They were still unable to solve the crime^[31] and on 16 November, Van den Hurk's remains were returned to her grave.^[32] Towards the end of 2012, the case was re-opened with the help of the NFI,^[31], and on 17 January 2014, the police arrested a 46-year-old man identified as Jos de G.^[33] in Helmond, after his DNA matched traces found on the remains and at the crime scene.^[34]^[31] De G. had previously been convicted of three rapes, being sentenced to three years preventive detention and compulsory treatment for one of them.^[33]^[34] He was known to have left his ex-girlfriend's home after a fight on 5 October 1995, a few hours before Van den Hurk's disappearance,^[35] but claimed innocence.^[36]

Court hearings and trial

The case was first brought to the court of Den Bosch on 24 April 2014, where public prosecutor Erna Vrijhoeven announced that a woman had told police that she was kidnapped and raped by De G. in 1987.^[35] De G.'s lawyer Job Knoester disputed the reliability of the DNA evidence, as DNA from other people, including Van den Hurk's ex-boyfriend, was also found on her remains.^[35] He argued that Van den Hurk may have consensually had sex with De G., had had multiple sexual partners, and may have been pregnant at the time of her death.^[37]^[38] At a pre-trial hearing on 3 July, the Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecution Authority) dropped the murder charge against De G. and he was instead charged with manslaughter along with rape.^[39]^[36] At a later hearing on 2 December, the defense team filed a request for recusal against the court, after it was ruled that investigators were not obliged to release all files connected to the original murder inquiry. Defense attorney Knoester deemed the court "biased".^[37] The request was denied later that month.^[38] At the eighth pre-trial hearing on 5 October 2015, De G. continued to maintain his innocence, saying he had no contact with Van den Hurk between her disappearance and the discovery of her body, although he may have had consensual sex with her a few days before she went missing.^[40]

The trial began at the court of Den Bosch on 2 November 2015.^[41] On 9 November, experts from Netherlands Forensic Institute and the Independent Forensic Services testified on the reliability of the DNA evidence. Investigators had been unable to obtain a full DNA profile from semen found on Van den Hurk's remains. While the expert from the IFS said this was unusual, the expert from the NFI disagreed, citing the fact that her body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was discovered.^[42] On 12 November, the court suspended the trial for two weeks to allow investigation into a statement made by a witness who said De G. once told them that he had killed a girl, believing he could have been talking about Van den Hurk.^[43]^[44] The following day, Jolande van der Graaf of De Telegraaf published an interview with the witness and another person, in which said they said they heard De G. say he strangled a girl while the three were patients in Veldzicht mental institution in the mid-2000s.^[44] De G. denied this when they testified in court in April 2016, and Knoester argued that they made these statements in order to claim the €15,000 reward offered by the Public Prosecution.^[45]

DNA from at least three people was found in a trace of sperm on Van den Hurk's remains after they were exhumed in 2011.^[46] The NFI believed the DNA belonged to her stepbrother Andy, her then-boyfriend, and De G..^[4] With experts disagreeing on the reliability of the sample, it was announced in March 2016 that scientists from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research in Auckland, New Zealand, would re-analyse the DNA using a mathematical and statistical method (instead of a laboratory test) as part of a programme named "STRmix".^[4] According to Eindhovens Dagblad, this was the first time the method would be used in a Dutch case.^[46] On 19 April, the court heard that it was 2.28 million times more likely that the DNA belonged to De G. and two others, than to three other people.^[47]

On 12 October 2016, the Public Prosecution demanded that De G. be sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment. They did not believe that De G. had engaged in consensual sex with Van den Hurk, citing a pubic hair found on her coat and arguing that she had no time for a relationship prior to her death.^[13] Two days later, Van den Hurk's family's lawyer Richard Korver filed a recusal request against the judges on behalf of the family, on the basis that the jury "[were not taking] them seriously" and had not given Van den Hurk's stepbrother Tommy the chance to speak.^[48]^[49] The request was denied on 19 October.^[49]

On 21 November 2016, De G. was found guilty of rape and sentenced to five years' imprisonment following a unanimous verdict, while he was absent from court.^[50] In determining the penalty, the court took into account the finding that De G. was legally insane at the time of the crime.^[51] De G. was acquitted of manslaughter as the court took into account the possibility that another of the three people whose DNA was found, who was never definitively identified, was involved in the death.^[50]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Beenen, Carin (17 March 2011). "Chronologisch overzicht moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Netherlands. Retrieved 24 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b "Dit moet je weten over de zaak-Nicole van den Hurk". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Young, Richard (18 March 2011). "Cold case murder – Stevenage man hands himself in". The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Maas, Amy (10 April 2016). "Dutch police turn to Kiwi scientists to help solve 1995 cold case". Stuff.co.nz. New Zealand. Retrieved 25 June 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "Aanhouding voor 18 jaar oude moord op Nicole van den Hurk". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ "Verdachte moord Nicole van den Hurk is tbs'er". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Ad van den Hurk niet de vader van Nicole". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 24 May 1996. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Belleman, Saskia (2 November 2015). "Familie Nicole hoopt op einde lijdensweg". De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl) (in Dutch). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "Vrijspraak Jos de G. voor doden Nicole van den Hurk, 5 jaar voor verkrachting". Boevennieuws.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Graven, Henrieke (18 March 2011). "De zaak Nicole van den Hurk op een rij". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Na 21 jaar komt OM met strafeis in moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS.nl) (in Dutch). Netherlands. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "Belangstelling uitvaart Nicole enorm". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 29 November 1995. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b Pieters, Janene (12 October 2016). "Suspect could face 14 years in prison for 1995 rape, murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Deadline (TROS), 8 February 1996.
^ ^a ^b Kagie, Sandra (18 March 2011). "Verdachte aangehouden in zaak Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Graven, Henrieke (18 March 2011). "Verdachte moord Van den Hurk wordt toch uitgeleverd". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). London. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "Ad van den Hurk: 'twijfel over verklaring zoon'". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Jansen, Rob (21 March 2011). "Vader: mijn zoon vermoordde Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Jansen, Rob (22 March 2011). "Stiefmoeder: Andy niet moordenaar Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Spierts, Twan (25 March 2011). "Andy van den Hurk wordt snel uitgeleverd". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Stevenage. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Vermonden, Ronnie (30 March 2011). "Zaak Nicole van den Hurk: stiefbroer Andy in Nederland". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Young, Richard (31 March 2011). "Stevenage man extradited in Dutch murder case". The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Janssen, Hans (1 April 2011). "Justitie in beroep: Andy van den Hurk niet vrij". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ de Vries, Jan (4 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk vrijgelaten: onvoldoende bewijs". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Vossen, Asja (5 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk op vrije voeten". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Spierts, Twan (15 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk: 'Nicole was zwanger toen ze werd vermoord'". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ van Hoof, René (15 April 2011). "Ad van den Hurk ontkent beschuldigingen". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Beenen, Carin (9 September 2011). "Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk opgegraven". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Beenen, Carin (13 September 2011). "'Doorbraak in zaak Nicole'". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "Ruim twintig nieuwe tips over zaak-Nicole". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Newmark, Zack (17 January 2014). "Arrest made in teenage girl's 1995 murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Dohmen, Hub (16 November 2011). "Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk herbegraven". Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b "Jos de G suspected in Van den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 23 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b "Van den Hurk murder suspect a repeat offender". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 21 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Zech, Maxime (24 April 2014). "Court hears details of cold case murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.
^ ^a ^b Newmark, Zack (4 July 2014). "Homicide charge dropped in Van Den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Pieters, Janene (2 December 2014). "Defense wants recusal in Nicole van den Hurk murder case". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Newmark, Zack (24 December 2014). "Judge bias claim tossed in trial of teen's alleged killer". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ "OM laat moord vallen in zaak Nicole". De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ "Suspect reiterates denial in 1995 rape, murder; Lawyer: Consensual sex possible". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 5 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Pieters, Janene (2 November 2015). "Nicole van den Hurk murder case in court 20 years after crime". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Pieters, Janene (9 November 2015). "Murder suspect challenges DNA evidence in teen's 1995 rape, murder". Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Pieters, Janene (12 November 2015). "New witness in 1995 teen girl's murder delays closing arguments". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Pieters, Janene (13 November 2015). "New witness: De G. confessed to strangling teen girl". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ Pieters, Janene (20 April 2016). "Journalist ordered to testify in 1995 Nicole van den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.
^ ^a ^b Pieters, Janene (31 March 2016). "DNA evidence re-examined in 1995 rape, murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.
^ Pieters, Janene (19 April 2016). "Court hears DNA evidence in 1995 murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.
^ Pieters, Janene (14 October 2016). "Family demands new judges in 1995 rape, murder case". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Pieters, Janene (19 October 2016). "Recusal denied: Judges to stay on 1995 rape, murder trial". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ ^a ^b Newmark, Zack (21 November 2016). "Jos de G. guilty of rape, not murder in '95 death of Nicole van den Hurk". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
^ van Rooij, Bart-Jan (22 November 2016). "Toch nog hoop op 'meer' bij familie Nicole van den Hurk". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

External links

Dossier Nicole van den Hurk (Eindhovens Dagblad) at the Wayback Machine (archived 23 September 2015)
Timeline of Nicole van den Hurk murder case at Eindhovens Dagblad

[:5-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Beenen, Carin (17 March 2011). "Chronologisch overzicht moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Netherlands. Retrieved 24 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:3-2] "Dit moet je weten over de zaak-Nicole van den Hurk". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[:8-3] Young, Richard (18 March 2011). "Cold case murder – Stevenage man hands himself in". The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:12-4] Maas, Amy (10 April 2016). "Dutch police turn to Kiwi scientists to help solve 1995 cold case". Stuff.co.nz. New Zealand. Retrieved 25 June 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:0-5] "Aanhouding voor 18 jaar oude moord op Nicole van den Hurk". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[:1-6] "Verdachte moord Nicole van den Hurk is tbs'er". NU.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[:4-7] "Ad van den Hurk niet de vader van Nicole". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 24 May 1996. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[:2-8] Belleman, Saskia (2 November 2015). "Familie Nicole hoopt op einde lijdensweg". De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl) (in Dutch). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[9] "Vrijspraak Jos de G. voor doden Nicole van den Hurk, 5 jaar voor verkrachting". Boevennieuws.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:6-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Graven, Henrieke (18 March 2011). "De zaak Nicole van den Hurk op een rij". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 24 July 2017.

[:7-11] "Na 21 jaar komt OM met strafeis in moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS.nl) (in Dutch). Netherlands. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[12] "Belangstelling uitvaart Nicole enorm". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 29 November 1995. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[:23-13] Pieters, Janene (12 October 2016). "Suspect could face 14 years in prison for 1995 rape, murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[14] Deadline (TROS), 8 February 1996.

[:9-15] Kagie, Sandra (18 March 2011). "Verdachte aangehouden in zaak Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[16] Graven, Henrieke (18 March 2011). "Verdachte moord Van den Hurk wordt toch uitgeleverd". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). London. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[17] "Ad van den Hurk: 'twijfel over verklaring zoon'". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[18] Jansen, Rob (21 March 2011). "Vader: mijn zoon vermoordde Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[19] Jansen, Rob (22 March 2011). "Stiefmoeder: Andy niet moordenaar Nicole van den Hurk". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[20] Spierts, Twan (25 March 2011). "Andy van den Hurk wordt snel uitgeleverd". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Stevenage. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[21] Vermonden, Ronnie (30 March 2011). "Zaak Nicole van den Hurk: stiefbroer Andy in Nederland". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[22] Young, Richard (31 March 2011). "Stevenage man extradited in Dutch murder case". The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net). Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[23] Janssen, Hans (1 April 2011). "Justitie in beroep: Andy van den Hurk niet vrij". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[24] Vries, Jan (4 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk vrijgelaten: onvoldoende bewijs". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[25] Vossen, Asja (5 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk op vrije voeten". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[26] Spierts, Twan (15 April 2011). "Andy van den Hurk: 'Nicole was zwanger toen ze werd vermoord'". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[27] van Hoof, René (15 April 2011). "Ad van den Hurk ontkent beschuldigingen". Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 25 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:10-28] Beenen, Carin (9 September 2011). "Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk opgegraven". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:11-29] Beenen, Carin (13 September 2011). "'Doorbraak in zaak Nicole'". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[30] "Ruim twintig nieuwe tips over zaak-Nicole". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:13-31] Newmark, Zack (17 January 2014). "Arrest made in teenage girl's 1995 murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[32] Dohmen, Hub (16 November 2011). "Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk herbegraven". Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 27 July 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:14-33] "Jos de G suspected in Van den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 23 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:15-34] "Van den Hurk murder suspect a repeat offender". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 21 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:16-35] Zech, Maxime (24 April 2014). "Court hears details of cold case murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.

[:19-36] Newmark, Zack (4 July 2014). "Homicide charge dropped in Van Den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:17-37] Pieters, Janene (2 December 2014). "Defense wants recusal in Nicole van den Hurk murder case". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:18-38] Newmark, Zack (24 December 2014). "Judge bias claim tossed in trial of teen's alleged killer". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[39] "OM laat moord vallen in zaak Nicole". De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl) (in Dutch). Den Bosch. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[40] "Suspect reiterates denial in 1995 rape, murder; Lawyer: Consensual sex possible". NL Times (nltimes.nl). 5 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[41] Pieters, Janene (2 November 2015). "Nicole van den Hurk murder case in court 20 years after crime". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:20-42] Pieters, Janene (9 November 2015). "Murder suspect challenges DNA evidence in teen's 1995 rape, murder". Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[43] Pieters, Janene (12 November 2015). "New witness in 1995 teen girl's murder delays closing arguments". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:21-44] Pieters, Janene (13 November 2015). "New witness: De G. confessed to strangling teen girl". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[45] Pieters, Janene (20 April 2016). "Journalist ordered to testify in 1995 Nicole van den Hurk murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.

[:22-46] Pieters, Janene (31 March 2016). "DNA evidence re-examined in 1995 rape, murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.

[47] Pieters, Janene (19 April 2016). "Court hears DNA evidence in 1995 murder". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017.

[48] Pieters, Janene (14 October 2016). "Family demands new judges in 1995 rape, murder case". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:24-49] Pieters, Janene (19 October 2016). "Recusal denied: Judges to stay on 1995 rape, murder trial". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[:25-50] Newmark, Zack (21 November 2016). "Jos de G. guilty of rape, not murder in '95 death of Nicole van den Hurk". NL Times (nltimes.nl). Retrieved 9 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

[51] van Rooij, Bart-Jan (22 November 2016). "Toch nog hoop op 'meer' bij familie Nicole van den Hurk". Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl) (in Dutch). Eindhoven. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

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@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 On 6 October 1995, fifteen-year-old Nicole van den Hurk disappeared on her way to work in [[Eindhoven]], in the Dutch province of [[North Brabant]]. Her body was found in the woods between [[Mierlo]] and [[Lierop]] on 22 November.
-After being closed in 1996, the case was re-opened in March 2011 after Nicole's stepbrother Andy van den Hurk confessed to killing her.<ref name=":8" /> He was released a month later due to a lack of evidence and later retracted his confession, saying he made it to get Nicole's body exhumed.<ref name=":12" /> After the remains were exhumed in September 2011, DNA collected from the remains and from the crime scene linked the crime to a man identified as Jos de G., who was arrested in January 2014.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3677716/aanhouding-18-jaar-oude-moord-nicole-van-hurk.html|title=Aanhouding voor 18 jaar oude moord op Nicole van den Hurk|date=17 January 2014|work=[[NU.nl]]|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3680624/verdachte-moord-nicole-van-hurk-tbser.html|title=Verdachte moord Nicole van den Hurk is tbs'er|date=21 January 2014|work=NU.nl|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref> Charged with rape and manslaughter, De G. was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of rape in November 2016, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/dvn/4354196/moet-weten-zaak-nicole-van-hurk.html|title=Dit moet je weten over de zaak-Nicole van den Hurk|date=21 November 2016|work=NU.nl|accessdate=23 July 2017|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref>
+After being closed in 1996, the case was re-opened in March 2011 after Van den Hurk's stepbrother confessed to killing her.<ref name=":8" /> He was released a month later due to a lack of evidence and later retracted his confession, saying he made it to get Nicole's body exhumed.<ref name=":12" /> After the remains were exhumed in September 2011, DNA collected from the remains and from the crime scene linked the crime to a man identified as Jos de G., who was arrested in January 2014.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3677716/aanhouding-18-jaar-oude-moord-nicole-van-hurk.html|title=Aanhouding voor 18 jaar oude moord op Nicole van den Hurk|date=17 January 2014|work=[[NU.nl]]|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3680624/verdachte-moord-nicole-van-hurk-tbser.html|title=Verdachte moord Nicole van den Hurk is tbs'er|date=21 January 2014|work=NU.nl|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref> Charged with rape and manslaughter, De G. was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of rape in November 2016, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/dvn/4354196/moet-weten-zaak-nicole-van-hurk.html|title=Dit moet je weten over de zaak-Nicole van den Hurk|date=21 November 2016|work=NU.nl|accessdate=23 July 2017|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref>
 == Background ==
-Nicole was born on 4 July 1980 in [[Erkelenz]], [[Rhineland]], Germany, to Angelika Tegtmeier.<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/ad-van-den-hurk-niet-de-vader-van-nicole~ad5dcc88/|title=Ad van den Hurk niet de vader van Nicole|date=24 May 1996|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> In 1982, they moved to [[Veldhoven]], [[North Brabant]], Netherlands, with Tegtmeier's boyfriend, Dutch singer Ad van den Hurk, whom Tegtmeier married in [[Eindhoven]] later that year.
+Nicole van den Hurk was born on 4 July 1980 in [[Erkelenz]], [[Rhineland]], Germany, to Angelika Tegtmeier.<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/ad-van-den-hurk-niet-de-vader-van-nicole~ad5dcc88/|title=Ad van den Hurk niet de vader van Nicole|date=24 May 1996|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> In 1982, they moved to [[Veldhoven]], [[North Brabant]], Netherlands, with Tegtmeier's boyfriend, Dutch singer Ad van den Hurk, whom Tegtmeier married in [[Eindhoven]] later that year.
 Nicole's biological father was a German man married to another woman. After Tegtmeier and Nicole moved in with Ad, Ad was legally recognised as Nicole's father, and
 after Ad and Tegtmeier divorced in 1989, Ad won [[Child custody|custody]] of Nicole.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> At the time of her disappearance, Nicole lived with Ad and his wife Jolanda,<ref name=":2" /> and was staying at her grandmother's house in [[Tongelre]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.boevennieuws.nl/nieuws/5-jaar-jos-de-g-nicole-van-den-hurk/|title=Vrijspraak Jos de G. voor doden Nicole van den Hurk, 5 jaar voor verkrachting|last=|first=|date=21 November 2016|work=Boevennieuws.nl|access-date=23 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref>
 == Disappearance and search ==
-Nicole left her grandmother's house in Tongelre in the early morning of Friday, 6 October 1995, and began cycling to {{ill|Woensel shopping centre|nl|Winkelcentrum Woensel}}, where she was working a holiday job at the bakery.<ref name=":6">{{cite news|last1=Graven|first1=Henrieke|title=De zaak Nicole van den Hurk op een rij|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152347912/De+zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk+op+een+rij.aspx|accessdate=24 July 2017|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|date=18 March 2011|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> When she did not arrive at work, her boss telephoned her, and received no response.<ref name=":6" /> At 18:00, a team of police officers searching for her found her bicycle in the river [[Dommel]], close to Eindhoven's [[water treatment]] plant. Between then and 10 October, a team of divers from the local fire brigade searched the Dommel around the area; the police questioned Nicole's family and friends, along with a group of five children whom they had detained for violence towards cyclists and pedestrians on the Wasvenpad, where Nicole was last seen and near where her bicycle was found; a platoon of policemen from the {{ill|Mobiele Eenheid|nl}} searched for clues in the Eckart forest near the water treatment plant and from a [[police plane]] and students at Nicole's school were questioned. On 11 October, two of the Dommel's overflow drains were searched, following a tip from a psychic consulted by Nicole's stepparents, to no avail. By this time the police had almost a hundred tips. The river banks of the Dommel between the Wasvenpad and the channel in [[Son, North Brabant|Son]] were searched on 17 October. After finding no trace of Nicole, the team stopped searching the Dommel.<ref name=":5" >{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/nicole-van-den-hurk/chronologisch-overzicht-moordzaak-nicole-van-den-hurk~ae14e0c3/|title=Chronologisch overzicht moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=17 March 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref>
+Van den Hurk left her grandmother's house in Tongelre in the early morning of Friday, 6 October 1995, and began cycling to {{ill|Woensel shopping centre|nl|Winkelcentrum Woensel}}, where she was working a holiday job at the bakery.<ref name=":6">{{cite news|last1=Graven|first1=Henrieke|title=De zaak Nicole van den Hurk op een rij|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152347912/De+zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk+op+een+rij.aspx|accessdate=24 July 2017|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|date=18 March 2011|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> When she did not arrive at work, her boss telephoned her, and received no response.<ref name=":6" /> At 18:00, a team of police officers searching for her found her bicycle in the river [[Dommel]], close to Eindhoven's [[water treatment]] plant. Between then and 10 October, a team of divers from the local fire brigade searched the Dommel around the area; the police questioned Van den Hurk's family and friends, along with a group of five children whom they had detained for violence towards cyclists and pedestrians on the Wasvenpad, where she was last seen and near where her bicycle was found; a platoon of policemen from the {{ill|Mobiele Eenheid|nl}} searched for clues in the Eckart forest near the water treatment plant and from a [[police plane]] and students at Van den Hurk's school were questioned. On 11 October, two of the Dommel's overflow drains were searched, following a tip from a psychic consulted by Van den Hurk's stepparents, to no avail. By this time the police had almost a hundred tips. The river banks of the Dommel between the Wasvenpad and the channel in [[Son, North Brabant|Son]] were searched on 17 October. After finding no trace of Van den Hurk, the team stopped searching the Dommel.<ref name=":5" >{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/nicole-van-den-hurk/chronologisch-overzicht-moordzaak-nicole-van-den-hurk~ae14e0c3/|title=Chronologisch overzicht moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=17 March 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref>
-The police received a letter from an anonymous sender reporting a sighting of a car on the Wasvenpad around the time Nicole disappeared.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> During the time Nicole was missing, the police also investigated in Germany, questioning her extended family. On Thursday, 19 October, Nicole's rucksack was found in the berm between Eindhoven's DAF-complex and the Kanaaldijk-Zuid.<ref name=":5" /> The following day the police searched the [[Eindhovensch Kanaal]] with a [[Detection dog|sniffer dog]] and then its south side. On 25 October, the number of tips increased following a broadcast of TV programme ''Crime International'' by [[RTL 4]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> During the weekend of 28–29 October, on the initiative of TV programme ''Deadline'', broadcast by [[TROS]], detectives again searched the areas they had searched between 6 and 20 October.<ref name=":5" /> By 7 November, the police had received 250 tips. There were strong suspicions that Nicole was in Germany and a substantial possibility that she had run away according to them; stepfather Ad van den Hurk did not believe this hypothesis. On 17 November, the corpse of a female found in Belgium was identified as not being Nicole's.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> A further forty tips were received on 20 November after a broadcast of TV programme ''{{ill|Hier en Nu|nl}}'', and the following day friends of the Van den Hurk family announced the founding of Opsporing Vermiste Kinderen, which aimed to collect money to print pamphlets with Nicole's picture.<ref name=":5" />
+The police received a letter from an anonymous sender reporting a sighting of a car on the Wasvenpad around the time Van den Hurk disappeared.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> During the time she was missing, the police also investigated in Germany, questioning her extended family. On Thursday, 19 October, Van den Hurk's rucksack was found in the berm between Eindhoven's DAF-complex and the Kanaaldijk-Zuid.<ref name=":5" /> The following day the police searched the [[Eindhovensch Kanaal]] with a [[Detection dog|sniffer dog]] and then its south side. On 25 October, the number of tips increased following a broadcast of TV programme ''Crime International'' by [[RTL 4]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> During the weekend of 28–29 October, on the initiative of TV programme ''Deadline'', broadcast by [[TROS]], detectives again searched the areas they had searched between 6 and 20 October.<ref name=":5" /> By 7 November, the police had received 250 tips. There were strong suspicions that Van den Hurk was in Germany and a substantial possibility that she had run away according to them; stepfather Ad did not believe this hypothesis. On 17 November, the corpse of a female found in Belgium was identified as not being Van den Hurk's.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> A further forty tips were received on 20 November after a broadcast of TV programme ''{{ill|Hier en Nu|nl}}'', and the following day friends of the Van den Hurk family announced the founding of Opsporing Vermiste Kinderen, which aimed to collect money to print pamphlets with Nicole's picture.<ref name=":5" />
-On Wednesday, 22 November, six-and-a-half weeks after Nicole's disappearance, a passerby found her corpse in the woods between [[Mierlo]] and [[Lierop]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=|title=Familie Nicole hoopt op einde lijdensweg|last=Belleman|first=Saskia|date=2 November 2015|work=De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl)|access-date=23 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=http://nos.nl/artikel/2137301-na-21-jaar-komt-om-met-strafeis-in-moordzaak-nicole-van-den-hurk.html?npo_cc=126&|title=Na 21 jaar komt OM met strafeis in moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=|first=|date=12 October 2016|work=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]] (NOS.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref> She was buried on 28 November at a funeral attended by approximately one thousand mourners.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/extra/dossiers/nicole-van-den-hurk/belangstelling-uitvaart-nicole-enorm-1.2057781|title=Belangstelling uitvaart Nicole enorm|date=29 November 1995|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215020/http://www.ed.nl/extra/dossiers/nicole-van-den-hurk/belangstelling-uitvaart-nicole-enorm-1.2057781|archivedate=21 February 2014|deadurl=yes}}</ref> The Public Prosecution believed that she most likely died from a stab wound which caused internal bleeding, but the exact cause of death was never determined.<ref name=":23" />
+On Wednesday, 22 November, six-and-a-half weeks after Van den Hurk's disappearance, a passerby found her corpse in the woods between [[Mierlo]] and [[Lierop]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=|title=Familie Nicole hoopt op einde lijdensweg|last=Belleman|first=Saskia|date=2 November 2015|work=De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl)|access-date=23 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=http://nos.nl/artikel/2137301-na-21-jaar-komt-om-met-strafeis-in-moordzaak-nicole-van-den-hurk.html?npo_cc=126&|title=Na 21 jaar komt OM met strafeis in moordzaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=|first=|date=12 October 2016|work=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]] (NOS.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Netherlands|language=Dutch}}</ref> She was buried on 28 November at a funeral attended by approximately one thousand mourners.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/extra/dossiers/nicole-van-den-hurk/belangstelling-uitvaart-nicole-enorm-1.2057781|title=Belangstelling uitvaart Nicole enorm|date=29 November 1995|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215020/http://www.ed.nl/extra/dossiers/nicole-van-den-hurk/belangstelling-uitvaart-nicole-enorm-1.2057781|archivedate=21 February 2014|deadurl=yes}}</ref> The Public Prosecution believed that she most likely died from a stab wound which caused internal bleeding, but the exact cause of death was never determined.<ref name=":23" />
 == Investigation and arrests ==
-The police had received a telephone call on 24 October 1995 from an anonymous caller who said they knew the name of Nicole's killer, but the call was disconnected before they could give details. An unsuccessful attempt was made to trace the caller by national television in January 1996.<ref name=":6" /> Later, with the investigation stagnating, the team of detectives was reduced to four.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> In February, Celine Hartogs, a girl from Eindhoven arrested in [[Miami]] for [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]] who knew the Van den Hurk family, told police that she had been forced to smuggle heroin by men who she said were involved in Nicole's death.<ref name=":5" /> Hartogs was questioned in Miami in March before she returned to the Netherlands.<ref name=":5" /><ref>''Deadline'' (TROS), 8 February 1996.</ref> The police said her story was flawed and did not help the investigation. Meanwhile, ''Passie'' magazine offered a sum of money for details of the killer, and it was suggested on TROS programme ''Deadline'' that Nicole could have been killed by the same person who killed another girl from Eindhoven, Manuela van Beek.<ref name=":5" /> Between May and June, Nicole's stepbrother Andy and stepfather Ad were arrested in connection with the killing, before being cleared of any involvement.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />
+The police had received a telephone call on 24 October 1995 from an anonymous caller who said they knew the name of Van den Hurk's killer, but the call was disconnected before they could give details. An unsuccessful attempt was made to trace the caller by national television in January 1996.<ref name=":6" /> Later, with the investigation stagnating, the team of detectives was reduced to four.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> In February, Celine Hartogs, a girl from Eindhoven arrested in [[Miami]] for [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]] who knew the Van den Hurk family, told police that she had been forced to smuggle heroin by men who she said were involved in Nicole's death.<ref name=":5" /> Hartogs was questioned in Miami in March before she returned to the Netherlands.<ref name=":5" /><ref>''Deadline'' (TROS), 8 February 1996.</ref> The police said her story was flawed and did not help the investigation. Meanwhile, ''Passie'' magazine offered a sum of money for details of the killer, and it was suggested on TROS programme ''Deadline'' that Van den Hurk could have been killed by the same person who killed another girl from Eindhoven, Manuela van Beek.<ref name=":5" /> Between May and June, Van den Hurk's stepbrother Andy and stepfather Ad were arrested in connection with the killing, before being cleared of any involvement.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />
-By 2011, Andy had moved to [[Stevenage]], [[Hertfordshire]], England. On 8 March 2011, he wrote on [[Facebook]] that he had confessed to killing Nicole, and was subsequently arrested by British police.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/cold-case-murder-stevenage-man-hands-himself-in-1-834444|title=Cold case murder – Stevenage man hands himself in|last=Young|first=Richard|date=18 March 2011|work=The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152301352/Verdachte+aangehouden+in+zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Verdachte aangehouden in zaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=Kagie|first=Sandra|date=18 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Ten days later, he appeared at [[Westminster Magistrates' Court]] on [[extradition]] proceedings,<ref name=":8" /> and the verdict was that he was to be extradited to the Netherlands after a seven-day period during which he was allowed to appeal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152327812/Verdachte+moord+Van+den+Hurk+wordt+toch+uitgeleverd.aspx|title=Verdachte moord Van den Hurk wordt toch uitgeleverd|last=Graven|first=Henrieke|date=18 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=London|language=Dutch}}</ref> In an interview with Eindhovens Dagblad, his father, Ad, Nicole's stepfather, who was living in Spain, doubted the truthfulness of Andy's confession, saying he was "begging for attention".<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/specials/nicolevandenhurk/8342371/Ad-van-den-Hurk-twijfel-over-verklaring-zoon.ece|title=Ad van den Hurk: 'twijfel over verklaring zoon'|last=|first=|date=17 March 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324114433/http://www.ed.nl/specials/nicolevandenhurk/8342371/Ad-van-den-Hurk-twijfel-over-verklaring-zoon.ece|archive-date=24 March 2011|dead-url=yes|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Three days after the verdict was passed he told [[Omroep Brabant]] that he believed his son was the killer;<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/1524891273/Vader+mijn+zoon+vermoordde+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Vader: mijn zoon vermoordde Nicole van den Hurk|last=Jansen|first=Rob|date=21 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> his ex-wife Jolanda van der Weijden disagreed with him about this.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152537942/Stiefmoeder+Andy+niet+moordenaar+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Stiefmoeder: Andy niet moordenaar Nicole van den Hurk|last=Jansen|first=Rob|date=22 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> By 25 March, Andy had not appealed the decision,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152742772/Andy+van+den+Hurk+wordt+snel+uitgeleverd.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk wordt snel uitgeleverd|last=Spierts|first=Twan|date=25 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Stevenage|language=Dutch}}</ref> and was extradited to the Netherlands on 30 March and held at the police station on the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven for questioning.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152961892/Zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk+stiefbroer+Andy+in+Nederland.aspx|title=Zaak Nicole van den Hurk: stiefbroer Andy in Nederland|last=Vermonden|first=Ronnie|date=30 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage-man-extradited-in-dutch-murder-case-1-846856|title=Stevenage man extradited in Dutch murder case|last=Young|first=Richard|date=31 March 2011|work=The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> He appeared in the court of [[Den Bosch]] on 1 April, where the judge decided that he would be released, as the only evidence provided by the judiciary was the confession Andy posted on Facebook.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153061562/Justitie+in+beroep+Andy+van+den+Hurk+niet+vrij.aspx|title=Justitie in beroep: Andy van den Hurk niet vrij|last=Janssen|first=Hans|date=1 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch}}</ref> The judiciary appealed the decision, but this was rejected<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153164782/Andy+van+den+Hurk+vrijgelaten+onvoldoende+bewijs.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk vrijgelaten: onvoldoende bewijs|last=de Vries|first=Jan|date=4 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch}}</ref> and he was released on 5 April.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153220382/Andy+van+den+Hurk+op+vrije+voeten.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk op vrije voeten|last=Vossen|first=Asja|date=5 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Some days after his release, Andy retracted his confession, telling Omroep Brabant that he was "almost certain" that it was his father who killed Nicole, and that prior to her death, Ad had raped and impregnated her – these accusations were denied by Ad.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153720582/Andy+van+den+Hurk+%E2%80%98Nicole+was+zwanger+toen+ze+werd+vermoord%E2%80%99.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk: ‘Nicole was zwanger toen ze werd vermoord’|last=Spierts|first=Twan|date=15 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153730632/Ad+van+den+Hurk+ontkent+beschuldigingen.aspx|title=Ad van den Hurk ontkent beschuldigingen|last=van Hoof|first=René|date=15 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> In April 2016, Andy said in an interview that he falsely confessed to bring attention to the crime and get Nicole's body exhumed for [[DNA profiling|DNA testing]] which could help solve the killing.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/78655759/Dutch-police-turn-to-Kiwi-scientists-to-help-solve-1995-cold-case|title=Dutch police turn to Kiwi scientists to help solve 1995 cold case|last=Maas|first=Amy|date=10 April 2016|work=[[Stuff.co.nz]]|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=New Zealand}}</ref>
+By 2011, Andy van den Hurk had moved to [[Stevenage]], [[Hertfordshire]], England. On 8 March 2011, he wrote on [[Facebook]] that he had confessed to killing Nicole, and was subsequently arrested by British police.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/cold-case-murder-stevenage-man-hands-himself-in-1-834444|title=Cold case murder – Stevenage man hands himself in|last=Young|first=Richard|date=18 March 2011|work=The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152301352/Verdachte+aangehouden+in+zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Verdachte aangehouden in zaak Nicole van den Hurk|last=Kagie|first=Sandra|date=18 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Ten days later, he appeared at [[Westminster Magistrates' Court]] on [[extradition]] proceedings,<ref name=":8" /> and the verdict was that he was to be extradited to the Netherlands after a seven-day period during which he was allowed to appeal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152327812/Verdachte+moord+Van+den+Hurk+wordt+toch+uitgeleverd.aspx|title=Verdachte moord Van den Hurk wordt toch uitgeleverd|last=Graven|first=Henrieke|date=18 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=London|language=Dutch}}</ref> In an interview with Eindhovens Dagblad, his father, Ad, Nicole's stepfather, who was living in Spain, doubted the truthfulness of Andy's confession, saying he was "begging for attention".<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/specials/nicolevandenhurk/8342371/Ad-van-den-Hurk-twijfel-over-verklaring-zoon.ece|title=Ad van den Hurk: 'twijfel over verklaring zoon'|last=|first=|date=17 March 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324114433/http://www.ed.nl/specials/nicolevandenhurk/8342371/Ad-van-den-Hurk-twijfel-over-verklaring-zoon.ece|archive-date=24 March 2011|dead-url=yes|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Three days after the verdict was passed he told [[Omroep Brabant]] that he believed his son was the killer;<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/1524891273/Vader+mijn+zoon+vermoordde+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Vader: mijn zoon vermoordde Nicole van den Hurk|last=Jansen|first=Rob|date=21 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> his ex-wife Jolanda van der Weijden disagreed with him about this.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152537942/Stiefmoeder+Andy+niet+moordenaar+Nicole+van+den+Hurk.aspx|title=Stiefmoeder: Andy niet moordenaar Nicole van den Hurk|last=Jansen|first=Rob|date=22 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> By 25 March, Andy had not appealed the decision,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152742772/Andy+van+den+Hurk+wordt+snel+uitgeleverd.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk wordt snel uitgeleverd|last=Spierts|first=Twan|date=25 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Stevenage|language=Dutch}}</ref> and was extradited to the Netherlands on 30 March and held at the police station on the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven for questioning.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/152961892/Zaak+Nicole+van+den+Hurk+stiefbroer+Andy+in+Nederland.aspx|title=Zaak Nicole van den Hurk: stiefbroer Andy in Nederland|last=Vermonden|first=Ronnie|date=30 March 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage-man-extradited-in-dutch-murder-case-1-846856|title=Stevenage man extradited in Dutch murder case|last=Young|first=Richard|date=31 March 2011|work=The Comet/Comet 24 (thecomet.net)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> He appeared in the court of [[Den Bosch]] on 1 April, where the judge decided that he would be released, as the only evidence provided by the judiciary was the confession Andy posted on Facebook.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153061562/Justitie+in+beroep+Andy+van+den+Hurk+niet+vrij.aspx|title=Justitie in beroep: Andy van den Hurk niet vrij|last=Janssen|first=Hans|date=1 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch}}</ref> The judiciary appealed the decision, but this was rejected<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153164782/Andy+van+den+Hurk+vrijgelaten+onvoldoende+bewijs.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk vrijgelaten: onvoldoende bewijs|last=de Vries|first=Jan|date=4 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch}}</ref> and he was released on 5 April.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153220382/Andy+van+den+Hurk+op+vrije+voeten.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk op vrije voeten|last=Vossen|first=Asja|date=5 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Some days after his release, Andy retracted his confession, telling Omroep Brabant that he was "almost certain" that it was his father who killed Nicole, and that prior to her death, Ad had raped and impregnated her – these accusations were denied by Ad.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153720582/Andy+van+den+Hurk+%E2%80%98Nicole+was+zwanger+toen+ze+werd+vermoord%E2%80%99.aspx|title=Andy van den Hurk: ‘Nicole was zwanger toen ze werd vermoord’|last=Spierts|first=Twan|date=15 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/153730632/Ad+van+den+Hurk+ontkent+beschuldigingen.aspx|title=Ad van den Hurk ontkent beschuldigingen|last=van Hoof|first=René|date=15 April 2011|work=Omroep Brabant (omroepbrabant.nl)|access-date=25 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> In April 2016, Andy said in an interview that he falsely confessed to bring attention to the crime and get Nicole's body exhumed for [[DNA profiling|DNA testing]] which could help solve the killing.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/78655759/Dutch-police-turn-to-Kiwi-scientists-to-help-solve-1995-cold-case|title=Dutch police turn to Kiwi scientists to help solve 1995 cold case|last=Maas|first=Amy|date=10 April 2016|work=[[Stuff.co.nz]]|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=New Zealand}}</ref>
-Nicole's remains were exhumed on 9 September 2011 to allow the [[Netherlands Forensic Institute]] to examine them for DNA.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/lichaam-nicole-van-den-hurk-opgegraven~a09495a6/|title=Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk opgegraven|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=9 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> On the same day, the reward for details about the killing was increased from 25,000 [[Dutch guilder|guilders]] to [[Euro|€]]15,000 by the judiciary.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/doorbraak-in-zaak-nicole~a2fcc323/|title='Doorbraak in zaak Nicole'|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=13 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> On 13 September, the police announced on [[Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep|AVRO]] TV programme ''{{ill|Opsporing Verzocht|nl}}'' that DNA had been found on the remains,<ref name=":11" /> and by 15 September they had received more than twenty new tips.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/ruim-twintig-nieuwe-tips-over-zaak-nicole~aa22502f/|title=Ruim twintig nieuwe tips over zaak-Nicole|last=|first=|date=15 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> They were still unable to solve the crime<ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/17/arrest-made-teenage-girls-1995-murder|title=Arrest made in teenage girl's 1995 murder|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=17 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> and on 16 November, Nicole's remains were returned to her grave.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/nicole-van-den-hurk/lichaam-nicole-van-den-hurk-herbegraven~a29e42c7/|title=Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk herbegraven|last=Dohmen|first=Hub|date=16 November 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Towards the end of 2012, the case was re-opened with the help of the NFI,<ref name=":13"/>, and on 17 January 2014, the police arrested a 46-year-old man identified as Jos de G.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/23/jos-de-g-suspected-van-den-hurk-murder|title=Jos de G suspected in Van den Hurk murder|date=23 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> in [[Helmond]], after his DNA matched traces found on the remains and at the crime scene.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/21/van-den-hurk-murder-suspect-repeat-offender|title=Van den Hurk murder suspect a repeat offender|date=21 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> De G. had previously been convicted of three rapes, being sentenced to three years preventive detention and compulsory treatment for one of them.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" /> He was known to have left his ex-girlfriend's home after a fight on 5 October 1995, a few hours before Nicole's disappearance,<ref name=":16" /> but claimed innocence.<ref name=":19" />
+Van den Hurk's remains were exhumed on 9 September 2011 to allow the [[Netherlands Forensic Institute]] to examine them for DNA.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/lichaam-nicole-van-den-hurk-opgegraven~a09495a6/|title=Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk opgegraven|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=9 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> On the same day, the reward for details about the killing was increased from 25,000 [[Dutch guilder|guilders]] to [[Euro|€]]15,000 by the judiciary.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/doorbraak-in-zaak-nicole~a2fcc323/|title='Doorbraak in zaak Nicole'|last=Beenen|first=Carin|date=13 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> On 13 September, the police announced on [[Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep|AVRO]] TV programme ''{{ill|Opsporing Verzocht|nl}}'' that DNA had been found on the remains,<ref name=":11" /> and by 15 September they had received more than twenty new tips.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/overig/ruim-twintig-nieuwe-tips-over-zaak-nicole~aa22502f/|title=Ruim twintig nieuwe tips over zaak-Nicole|last=|first=|date=15 September 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> They were still unable to solve the crime<ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/17/arrest-made-teenage-girls-1995-murder|title=Arrest made in teenage girl's 1995 murder|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=17 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> and on 16 November, Van den Hurk's remains were returned to her grave.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/nicole-van-den-hurk/lichaam-nicole-van-den-hurk-herbegraven~a29e42c7/|title=Lichaam Nicole van den Hurk herbegraven|last=Dohmen|first=Hub|date=16 November 2011|work=Eindhovens Dagblad|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch}}</ref> Towards the end of 2012, the case was re-opened with the help of the NFI,<ref name=":13"/>, and on 17 January 2014, the police arrested a 46-year-old man identified as Jos de G.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/23/jos-de-g-suspected-van-den-hurk-murder|title=Jos de G suspected in Van den Hurk murder|date=23 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> in [[Helmond]], after his DNA matched traces found on the remains and at the crime scene.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/01/21/van-den-hurk-murder-suspect-repeat-offender|title=Van den Hurk murder suspect a repeat offender|date=21 January 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> De G. had previously been convicted of three rapes, being sentenced to three years preventive detention and compulsory treatment for one of them.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" /> He was known to have left his ex-girlfriend's home after a fight on 5 October 1995, a few hours before Van den Hurk's disappearance,<ref name=":16" /> but claimed innocence.<ref name=":19" />
 == Court hearings and trial ==
-The case was first brought to the court of Den Bosch on 24 April 2014, where public prosecutor Erna Vrijhoeven announced that a woman had told police that she was kidnapped and raped by De G. in 1987.<ref name=":16">{{cite news|last1=Zech|first1=Maxime|title=Court hears details of cold case murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/04/24/court-hears-details-cold-case-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=24 April 2014}}</ref> De G.'s lawyer Job Knoester disputed the reliability of the DNA evidence, as DNA from other people, including Nicole's ex-boyfriend, was also found on her remains.<ref name=":16" /> He argued that Nicole may have consensually had sex with De G., had had multiple sexual partners, and may have been pregnant at the time of her death.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/12/02/defense-wants-recusal-nicole-van-den-hurk-murder-case|title=Defense wants recusal in Nicole van den Hurk murder case|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=2 December 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/12/24/judge-bias-claim-tossed-trial-teens-alleged-killer|title=Judge bias claim tossed in trial of teen's alleged killer|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=24 December 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> At a pre-trial hearing on 3 July, the [[Openbaar Ministerie]] (Public Prosecution Authority) dropped the murder charge against De G. and he was instead charged with [[manslaughter]] along with rape.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/22812774/__OM_laat_moord_vallen_in_zaak_Nicole__.html|title=OM laat moord vallen in zaak Nicole|date=3 July 2014|work=De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl)|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/07/04/homicide-charge-dropped-van-den-hurk-murder|title=Homicide charge dropped in Van Den Hurk murder|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=4 July 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> At a later hearing on 2 December, the defense team filed a request for [[Judicial disqualification|recusal]] against the court, after it was ruled that investigators were not obliged to release all files connected to the original murder inquiry. Defense attorney Knoester deemed the court "biased".<ref name=":17" /> The request was denied later that month.<ref name=":18" /> At the eighth pre-trial hearing on 5 October 2015, De G. continued to maintain his innocence, saying he had no contact with Nicole between her disappearance and the discovery of her body, although he may have had consensual sex with her a few days before she went missing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/10/05/suspect-reiterates-denial-1995-rape-murder-lawyer-consensual-sex-possible|title=Suspect reiterates denial in 1995 rape, murder; Lawyer: Consensual sex possible|date=5 October 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>
+The case was first brought to the court of Den Bosch on 24 April 2014, where public prosecutor Erna Vrijhoeven announced that a woman had told police that she was kidnapped and raped by De G. in 1987.<ref name=":16">{{cite news|last1=Zech|first1=Maxime|title=Court hears details of cold case murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/04/24/court-hears-details-cold-case-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=24 April 2014}}</ref> De G.'s lawyer Job Knoester disputed the reliability of the DNA evidence, as DNA from other people, including Van den Hurk's ex-boyfriend, was also found on her remains.<ref name=":16" /> He argued that Van den Hurk may have consensually had sex with De G., had had multiple sexual partners, and may have been pregnant at the time of her death.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/12/02/defense-wants-recusal-nicole-van-den-hurk-murder-case|title=Defense wants recusal in Nicole van den Hurk murder case|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=2 December 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/12/24/judge-bias-claim-tossed-trial-teens-alleged-killer|title=Judge bias claim tossed in trial of teen's alleged killer|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=24 December 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> At a pre-trial hearing on 3 July, the [[Openbaar Ministerie]] (Public Prosecution Authority) dropped the murder charge against De G. and he was instead charged with [[manslaughter]] along with rape.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/22812774/__OM_laat_moord_vallen_in_zaak_Nicole__.html|title=OM laat moord vallen in zaak Nicole|date=3 July 2014|work=De Telegraaf (telegraaf.nl)|location=Den Bosch|language=Dutch|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2014/07/04/homicide-charge-dropped-van-den-hurk-murder|title=Homicide charge dropped in Van Den Hurk murder|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=4 July 2014|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> At a later hearing on 2 December, the defense team filed a request for [[Judicial disqualification|recusal]] against the court, after it was ruled that investigators were not obliged to release all files connected to the original murder inquiry. Defense attorney Knoester deemed the court "biased".<ref name=":17" /> The request was denied later that month.<ref name=":18" /> At the eighth pre-trial hearing on 5 October 2015, De G. continued to maintain his innocence, saying he had no contact with Van den Hurk between her disappearance and the discovery of her body, although he may have had consensual sex with her a few days before she went missing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/10/05/suspect-reiterates-denial-1995-rape-murder-lawyer-consensual-sex-possible|title=Suspect reiterates denial in 1995 rape, murder; Lawyer: Consensual sex possible|date=5 October 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>
-The trial began at the court of Den Bosch on 2 November 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/02/nicole-van-den-hurk-murder-case-court-20-years-crime|title=Nicole van den Hurk murder case in court 20 years after crime|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=2 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> On 9 November, experts from Netherlands Forensic Institute and the Independent Forensic Services testified on the reliability of the DNA evidence. Investigators had been unable to obtain a full DNA profile from semen found on Nicole's remains. While the expert from the IFS said this was unusual, the expert from the NFI disagreed, citing the fact that her body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was discovered.<ref name=":20">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/09/murder-suspect-challenges-dna-evidence-teens-1995-rape-murder|title=Murder suspect challenges DNA evidence in teen’s 1995 rape, murder|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=9 November 2015|work=|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> On 12 November, the court suspended the trial for two weeks to allow investigation into a statement made by a witness who said De G. once told them that he had killed a girl, believing he could have been talking about Nicole.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/12/new-witness-1995-teen-girls-murder-delays-closing-arguments|title=New witness in 1995 teen girl’s murder delays closing arguments|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=12 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/13/new-witness-de-g-confessed-strangling-teen-girl|title=New witness: De G. confessed to strangling teen girl|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=13 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> The following day, Jolande van der Graaf of ''[[De Telegraaf]]'' published an interview with the witness and another person, in which said they said they heard De G. say he strangled a girl while the three were patients in Veldzicht mental institution in the mid-2000s.<ref name=":21" /> De G. denied this when they testified in court in April 2016, and Knoester argued that they made these statements in order to claim the €15,000 reward offered by the Public Prosecution.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=Journalist ordered to testify in 1995 Nicole van den Hurk murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/04/20/journalist-ordered-testify-1995-nicole-van-den-hurk-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=20 April 2016}}</ref>
+The trial began at the court of Den Bosch on 2 November 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/02/nicole-van-den-hurk-murder-case-court-20-years-crime|title=Nicole van den Hurk murder case in court 20 years after crime|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=2 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> On 9 November, experts from Netherlands Forensic Institute and the Independent Forensic Services testified on the reliability of the DNA evidence. Investigators had been unable to obtain a full DNA profile from semen found on Van den Hurk's remains. While the expert from the IFS said this was unusual, the expert from the NFI disagreed, citing the fact that her body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was discovered.<ref name=":20">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/09/murder-suspect-challenges-dna-evidence-teens-1995-rape-murder|title=Murder suspect challenges DNA evidence in teen’s 1995 rape, murder|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=9 November 2015|work=|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> On 12 November, the court suspended the trial for two weeks to allow investigation into a statement made by a witness who said De G. once told them that he had killed a girl, believing he could have been talking about Van den Hurk.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/12/new-witness-1995-teen-girls-murder-delays-closing-arguments|title=New witness in 1995 teen girl’s murder delays closing arguments|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=12 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2015/11/13/new-witness-de-g-confessed-strangling-teen-girl|title=New witness: De G. confessed to strangling teen girl|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=13 November 2015|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> The following day, Jolande van der Graaf of ''[[De Telegraaf]]'' published an interview with the witness and another person, in which said they said they heard De G. say he strangled a girl while the three were patients in Veldzicht mental institution in the mid-2000s.<ref name=":21" /> De G. denied this when they testified in court in April 2016, and Knoester argued that they made these statements in order to claim the €15,000 reward offered by the Public Prosecution.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=Journalist ordered to testify in 1995 Nicole van den Hurk murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/04/20/journalist-ordered-testify-1995-nicole-van-den-hurk-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=20 April 2016}}</ref>
-DNA from at least three people was found in a trace of sperm on Nicole's remains after they were exhumed in 2011.<ref name=":22">{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=DNA evidence re-examined in 1995 rape, murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/03/31/dna-evidence-re-examined-1995-rape-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=31 March 2016}}</ref> The NFI believed the DNA belonged to her stepbrother Andy, her then-boyfriend, and De G..<ref name=":12" /> With experts disagreeing on the reliability of the sample, it was announced in March 2016 that scientists from the [[Institute of Environmental Science and Research]] in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, would re-analyse the DNA using a mathematical and statistical method (instead of a laboratory test) as part of a programme named "STRmix".<ref name=":12" /> According to ''Eindhovens Dagblad'', this was the first time the method would be used in a Dutch case.<ref name=":22" /> On 19 April, the court heard that it was 2.28 million times more likely that the DNA belonged to De G. and two others, than to three other people.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=Court hears DNA evidence in 1995 murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/04/19/court-hears-dna-evidence-1995-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=19 April 2016}}</ref>
+DNA from at least three people was found in a trace of sperm on Van den Hurk's remains after they were exhumed in 2011.<ref name=":22">{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=DNA evidence re-examined in 1995 rape, murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/03/31/dna-evidence-re-examined-1995-rape-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=31 March 2016}}</ref> The NFI believed the DNA belonged to her stepbrother Andy, her then-boyfriend, and De G..<ref name=":12" /> With experts disagreeing on the reliability of the sample, it was announced in March 2016 that scientists from the [[Institute of Environmental Science and Research]] in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, would re-analyse the DNA using a mathematical and statistical method (instead of a laboratory test) as part of a programme named "STRmix".<ref name=":12" /> According to ''Eindhovens Dagblad'', this was the first time the method would be used in a Dutch case.<ref name=":22" /> On 19 April, the court heard that it was 2.28 million times more likely that the DNA belonged to De G. and two others, than to three other people.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pieters|first1=Janene|title=Court hears DNA evidence in 1995 murder|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/04/19/court-hears-dna-evidence-1995-murder|accessdate=9 August 2017|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|date=19 April 2016}}</ref>
-On 12 October 2016, the Public Prosecution demanded that De G. be sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment. They did not believe that De G. had engaged in consensual sex with Nicole, citing a pubic hair found on her coat and arguing that she had no time for a relationship prior to her death.<ref name=":23" >{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/12/suspect-face-14-years-prison-1995-rape-murder|title=Suspect could face 14 years in prison for 1995 rape, murder|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=12 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Two days later, Nicole's family's lawyer Richard Korver filed a recusal request against the judges on behalf of the family, on the basis that the jury "[were not taking] them seriously" and had not given Nicole's stepbrother Tommy the chance to speak.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/14/family-demands-new-judges-1995-rape-murder-case|title=Family demands new judges in 1995 rape, murder case|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=14 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/19/recusal-denied-judges-stay-1995-rape-murder-trial|title=Recusal denied: Judges to stay on 1995 rape, murder trial|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=19 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> The request was denied on 19 October.<ref name=":24" />
+On 12 October 2016, the Public Prosecution demanded that De G. be sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment. They did not believe that De G. had engaged in consensual sex with Van den Hurk, citing a pubic hair found on her coat and arguing that she had no time for a relationship prior to her death.<ref name=":23" >{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/12/suspect-face-14-years-prison-1995-rape-murder|title=Suspect could face 14 years in prison for 1995 rape, murder|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=12 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Two days later, Van den Hurk's family's lawyer Richard Korver filed a recusal request against the judges on behalf of the family, on the basis that the jury "[were not taking] them seriously" and had not given Van den Hurk's stepbrother Tommy the chance to speak.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/14/family-demands-new-judges-1995-rape-murder-case|title=Family demands new judges in 1995 rape, murder case|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=14 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/19/recusal-denied-judges-stay-1995-rape-murder-trial|title=Recusal denied: Judges to stay on 1995 rape, murder trial|last=Pieters|first=Janene|date=19 October 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> The request was denied on 19 October.<ref name=":24" />
 On 21 November 2016, De G. was found guilty of rape and sentenced to five years' imprisonment following a unanimous verdict, while he was absent from court.<ref name=":25">{{Cite news|url=http://nltimes.nl/2016/11/21/jos-de-g-guilty-rape-murder-95-death-nicole-van-den-hurk|title=Jos de G. guilty of rape, not murder in '95 death of Nicole van den Hurk|last=Newmark|first=Zack|date=21 November 2016|work=NL Times (nltimes.nl)|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> In determining the penalty, the court took into account the finding that De G. was [[Insanity defense|legally insane]] at the time of the crime.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ed.nl/nicole-van-den-hurk/toch-nog-hoop-op-meer-bij-familie-nicole-van-den-hurk~a4b378a0/|title=Toch nog hoop op 'meer' bij familie Nicole van den Hurk|date=22 November 2016|work=Eindhovens Dagblad (ED.nl)|location=Eindhoven|language=Dutch|last1=van Rooij|first1=Bart-Jan|accessdate=23 July 2017}}</ref> De G. was acquitted of manslaughter as the court took into account the possibility that another of the three people whose DNA was found, who was never definitively identified, was involved in the death.<ref name=":25" />