Suspects deny involvement in murder of Curacao politician

Willemstad, Curacao — Two of the four suspects charged with the murder of Curacao politician Helmin Wiels, who was shot dead on May 5, have denied having anything to do with the murder.

“I’m innocent; I have nothing to do with it. I have become a victim of justice. They know very well who’s all behind this,” said Dangelo Damascus, one of the suspects.

At a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, in addition to 26-year-old Damascus, 31-year-old Carlos Pieters, 42-year-old Burney ‘Nini’ Fonseca and 36-year-old Elvis ‘Monster’ Kuwas were brought before the court as the suspects in the Wiels’ murder.

Pieters is accused to have offered assistance with the cars. Fonseca is suspected of giving the instructions and Luigi ‘Pretu’ Florentina for the distribution of the payment.

In Addition, Damascus is suspected of murdering Raikel Conception on June 22 and the murder of Lionel Arnoud on June 8. Kuwas is suspected of murdering Raoul ‘Bolle’ Martinez. He is believed to have shot Bolle through the head and then threw the body into the sea. The prosecutor, Gert Rip, said that the investigations into the allegations are ongoing. The prosecutors are still investigating the identity of the actual intellectual authors who gave the orders for the murder.

Kuwas’ lawyer said her client cannot eat any meals in prison. The food could be poisoned, and he has to deal with daily death threats. The defendant indicated that he has the right to eat a decent meal. The prosecutor indicated that this is an issue of the prison management.

The lawyers of three suspects have submitted a request to suspend the pre-trial detention. In addition, a request was submitted to transfer them to another prison.

Republished with permission of the Curacao Chronicle