Bart van de Laar's case reopened?

Bart Van de Laar was a successful record executive in the late 1970's and early 1980's. This openly gay man had a flamboyant lifestyle. He was involved in Carrere/CNR records. In October 1979, Luv' signed a 750.000 Dutch guilder deal with him after the group left Philips/Phonogram. The business man paid the ladies Concorde and private jet flights, Champagne bottles and prestigious parties. Under his guidance, the trio scored two big hits: the single "Ooh, Yes I Do" (#2 in Denmark, #5 in Holland, #7 in Belgium, #27 in Germany, #10 in France, #13 in Austria, #10 on the Europarade, certified gold in Mexico) and the album "True Luv" (which sold 50.000 copies in Holland alone and thus went gold). 

The "showbiz transfer of 1979": Luv' left Philips/Phonogram to sign a lucrative contract with CNR/Carrere.

José and her Luv' colleagues earned a gold record for their CNR/Carrere album "True Luv" in 1980

In association with WEA Netherlands, Van de Laar later ran the short-lived TTR label with his partners Ruud Wijnands and German entrepreneur Rolf Baierle. In addition to Luv', his artist roster included Francis Goya, Corry Konings, Babe, Benny Neyman and Lenny Kuhr. On November 10th, 1981 he was shot dead in Hilversum. Gay prostitute Martien Hunnik was condemned for his murder and was released from prison in the early 1990's. Van de Laar's death remained a mystery. In April 2009, Marga Scheide and José Hoebee appeared on RTL 4's paranormal show "Het Zesde Zintuig" (the Sixth Sense) to tell their memories of the record producer. This TV program featured mediums who analysed the crime scene and felt that his assassination might be linked to his activities. Van de Laar had indeed made many enemies in the showbiz. A cold case team set up by the newspaper "De Telegraaf" investigated the homicide in 2010 and revealed contradictions. Recently,  Geert-Jan Knoops, Hunnik's lawyer and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) asked for the reopening of the case because of a possible miscarriage of justice. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has to make a decision. On March 21st, RTL Boulevard covered the news and therefore interviewed Marga. The former Luv' singer described the late producer as a man "full of energy, always laughing and one of a kind".

Bart Van de Laar

To watch a RTL Boulevard video (including the phone interview with Marga), click here
To watch a video of De Telegraaf cold case team, click here

Source: RTL Boulevard, De Telegraaf, AD.nl, Trouw....