In the Netherlands we call him the cuddle criminal. Charming nickname, right? You are standing right now at the very spot where Willem "the Nose" Holleeder was born on 29 May 1958. Back then, this neighbourhood was working-class and scrappy, full of narrow streets and big personalities. Willem fit right in.
His father drove Freddy Heineken around for a living. Small world, because young Willem would later kidnap that exact same Heineken, demanding 35 million guilders and making international headlines in 1983. Bold move. The victims sat locked in a warehouse for weeks, and even after the ransom was paid, nobody opened the door. Police eventually found them thanks to an anonymous tip.
Holleeder and his crew fled to Paris, got caught, and served prison time. After his release in 1992, he kept a low profile for about five minutes before getting arrested again. And again. The press adored him. "Cuddly criminal," they called him, practically expecting him to show up on a talk show with a wink and a smile.
The smile faded in July 2019, when Amsterdam's court sentenced him to life imprisonment for ordering six murders. Even his own sisters testified against him.
Cuddly, indeed.
Sources. Story: dutchmultimedia.nl Photos: Door Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo - http://proxy.handle.net/10648/ad5bd6d6-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84, Nummer toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer 933-8692, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29628709
