Chief suspect in Playa de Palma death is released from prison

Carlo Heuvelman.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma14/04/2022 10:50

The nine young Dutch men arrested in connection with the death of Carlo Heuvelman in Playa de Palma in July last year are now all at liberty pending trial, which is scheduled for this October. On Wednesday, a court in Lelystad agreed to the release of 20-year-old Sanil B., the only one of the nine who was still in custody. He is considered, along with two others, to have been principally responsible for the death of 27-year-old Carlo Heuvelman, who was from Waddinxveen in the Netherlands.

The court accepted that the decision to release Sanil B. "might be difficult to understand, especially for the family". Justifications for the release were the absence of a previous record, his young age and the time he has already spent in prison. Conditions for the release include not having any contact with the other eight.

DNA from Carlo Heuvelman was found on one of Sanil B.'s shoes. He has always acknowledged that he was in the Balneario 1 area of Playa de Palma on the night of July 14 and that he had attacked people, "but not the guy who died".

At a previous hearing in January, a conversation that he had in prison with police officers who had posed as prisoners and gained his trust came to light. In this, he would appear to have confessed that he kicked Carlo Heuvelman in the head. His defence argued that he had been set up.