Alfredo Bido Fernandez (24) found poisoned in a flat in the Kouwenoord block

George H., born in New York and of Dominican origin, was a point of reference in the Dominican community in Amsterdam-Zuidoost because he spoke English and Dutch as well as Spanish. He abused that position: he had newcomers take out life and funeral insurance with himself - or his mother in the Dominican Republic - as beneficiary. It came to light when several Dominicans died young and H. received large payouts. Searching his home, police found a bag with hypodermic needles and ampoules of succinylcholine, a muscle relaxant used in the Netherlands only in hospital operating theatres, which H. had obtained on a forged prescription. On 13 November 2013 the 24-year-old Alfredo Bido Fernandez, a compatriot of his, was found dead in H.'s flat in the Kouwenoord block in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. At first it looked like a natural death. The post-mortem, however, found traces of succinylcholine, and the tip of a hypodermic needle carried the victim's DNA while the plunger carried H.'s, albeit in a mixed profile. On 4 December 2017 the Amsterdam court of appeal sentenced H. to life imprisonment for both medicine murders. On 8 October 2019 the Supreme Court let that judgment stand. Prosecutors initially suspected H.'s hand in two further deaths as well, but he was not prosecuted for those.