Amsterdam man acquitted in partner’s 2016 murder convicted on appeal of strangling her

Robert L., 48, was convicted on appeal in the slaying of his partner, Susanna Boon, a decade ago. Previously acquitted by a lower court, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal handed down the verdict on Thursday, sentencing L. to 11 years in prison for strangling the 51-year-old woman. Just weeks after Boon disappeared, L. was living in the house with another woman.

L. is believed to be the last person to have seen Boon alive, admitting the two found themselves in an argument at their Amsterdam-West home. He claimed she left the home drunk during the evening hours of January 7, 2016. He only reported her missing two days later, and her body was eventually discovered by a hiker on March 29.

The body was not found in Amsterdam, but rather 80 kilometers further east in Zandenbos, a forest in Nunspeet, Gelderland. By that point, L. was already in custody. As the investigation unfolded, L. refused to tell police how the argument began and developed. He also did not fully disclose his whereabouts the day after her disappearance, with prosecutors saying it is not known where L. was during a portion of the afternoon of January 8.

Those details were critical elements leading to his conviction on Thursday. Their relationship had deteriorated badly by that point. Investigators have said Boon wanted L. to move out of their home.

Further, L. also knew the area where Boon’s body was discovered well, the court said, describing it as “a place that is not easy for others to find.” The court noted that he had enough time during those hours to drive from Amsterdam to the wooded area near Nunspeet.

The clothes found on Boon's body when she was found also did not match L.’s description. The appeals court stated that forensic evidence established that the clothing must have come from their shared home.

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal blamed L. for failing to answer key questions despite “highly incriminating circumstances.” The judges presiding over the district court trial had cited insufficient evidence to convict the man.

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal disagreed and condemned L., saying he deprived Boon’s daughters of their mother “in an extremely cruel manner.” It also criticized him for reporting her missing, but refusing to provide answers about the circumstances of her death.