Volkert van der Graaf

Volkert van der Graaf (born July 9, 1969) is the confessed murderer of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn.

Killing of Fortuyn

On May 6, 2002 Pim Fortuyn was murdered outside a radio studio in Hilversum just after he finished an interview. Van der Graaf was arrested near the scene of the crime after a pursuit by witnesses. Details of the suspect have always been officially reported as "Volkert van der G." in accordance with unwritten Dutch privacy practice. However his full name was readily available on the net and addresses were soon circulating on web sites used by Fortuyn's supporters. With passions running high and angry followers of supporters gathering in several cities, several people related to Van der Graaf went into hiding. His girlfriend and their daughter left their house on the evening of the murder.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 2002 - Pim Fortuyn - Hilversum - Privacy

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The details of the murder emerged later, with the accounts of the investigators and Van der Graaf being consistent. He had planned the attack using information obtained from the Internet; printouts of a map of the scene of the crime and schedules of Fortuyn's appearances were found in his car. In two boxes of cartridges found at his home, 7 cartridges were missing, the exact number loaded in his gun. The attack has been described as the work of a single person, an amateur shooter who used a relatively simple plan and didn't prepare a good escape route.

Related Topics:
Internet - Cartridge

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Van der Graaf purchased his weapons illegally; a semi-automatic Star Firestar M-43 http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg113-e.htm pistol in a café in Ede and 9mm cartridges in The Hague. After the murder of Fortuyn, the gun was linked to a suspect of a robbery of a jeweller in Emmen through DNA material found on the weapon.

Related Topics:
Pistol - Ede - 9mm - The Hague - Emmen - DNA

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On the day of the murder, he attended work in the morning, taking with him a backpack containing the gun, a pair of latex gloves, a baseball cap and a pair of dark glasses. At the end of the morning he said he was taking the afternoon off on account of the beautiful weather. He drove towards Hilversum, knowing that Fortuyn was due to be interviewed in the radio studio of 3FM in the Mediapark. During the trip he stopped several times, among other things to purchase a shaver to remove his stubble, which together with the cap and glasses would disguise his appearance, while the gloves would avoid leaving fingerprints. However the shaver did not work.

Related Topics:
Hilversum - Mediapark - Fingerprint

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He had never visited the Mediapark, relying on a map and a couple of photos to find his way in to the park on foot and to the building where Fortuyn's interview was held. Recognising Fortuyn's Daimler in the carpark, he hid in some nearby bushes, burying the gun which was in a plastic bag in a shallow trough in case he was discovered. He could hear fragments of Fortuyn's interview from a speaker on the outside of the building. He waited there for about two hours.

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Fortuyn emerged from the building in the company of several others. Van der Graaf walked in the direction of Fortuyn, passed by him, then turned and opened fire. He said that he aimed for his back to avoid the chance that Fortuyn would duck away, or that a bullet would hit somebody else by mistake. He held the gun in both hands, still with the plastic bag around it, less than 1.5 metres from Fortuyn, hitting him in the back and head five times then firing a sixth shot that missed.

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He ran off, but Fortuyn's chauffeur, Hans Smolders, took up the chase. Two employees from a different building of the Mediapark later joined in. During the chase Van der Graaf threatened them by raising the gun in his jacket pocket towards them. They left the grounds of the Mediapark onto a public road, where Van der Graaf pointed the pistol at arms length at Smolders, who during the chase had been reporting the position to the police by mobile phone. Upon reaching a Texaco petrol station, Van der Graaf gave up when police emerging from their car pointed their pistols at him.

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