Damages and apologies to Martien Hunnik (ex-accused of Bart van de Laar's murder)

                                                            Martien Hunnik

Last year, Martien Hunnik (ex-accused of Bart van de Laar's murder) was acquitted. Recently, Netherlands Public Prosecution Service announced that he would received damages (probably more than 1 million euros) and apologies from the State. 

Record executive and producer Bart van de Laar was shot in his house in Hilversum, NL on November 10th, 1981. Three days later, he died from his wounds (see article posted on November 11th, 2016). He was involved in Carrere/CNR records in the late 1970s.  Luv' signed a 750.000 Dutch guilder deal with him in October 1979. He followed the ladies when they went on a memorable promo tour in Mexico in May 1980. The group received two gold records there (one for "Si, Que Si" (the Spanish version of "Ooh, Yes I Do") and another one for the 50.000 sales of their "True Luv" album in Holland). 

Gay prostitute Martien Hunnik was arrested and convicted on the basis of a confession he made but later retracted. He was released from jail in the early 1990s. Van der Laar's death remained a mystery.  

Hunnik then tried to get hold of his file and when he was refused, his lawyer and the public prosecutor requested a new trial. It became apparent that Hunnik was probably innocent. Two people known to Van der Laar most likely killed him on the orders of a business partner. In addition, medical experts said that Hunnik was ‘very susceptible to suggestions’ and inclined to exaggerate at the time of his confession. 

In 2016, a musical based on this showbiz murder was prepared by Janke Dekker Producties. This project has been lately cancelled. 

Source: ED.nl, NU.nl, Business Insider....