Johannes Marinus "Hans" van Zon a.k.a. The Gentleman Killer is a Dutch serial killer, hitman, and robber responsible for a series of brutal heist murders in the 1970s, mostly under the instruction of mobster Arnoldus "Old Nol" Rietbergen.
History[]
Arnoldus "Old Nol" Rietbergen
Van Zon, a charismatic slacker, dated Italian-born Caroline Gigli while having an affair with Coby van der Voort. Van Zon was paid to distribute sexually graphic photos of both women. Van Zon eventually left van der Voort, but she wouldn't leave him alone. Van Zon is suspected of the murders of Elly Segov in 1964 and Claude Berkeley, an English-born, openly gay film director, in 1965, but he was never charged.
On April 29, 1967, van Zon bludgeoned van der Voort with a homemade pipe in her home, the mutilated her remains and stole her jewelry, which were given to Gigli, as a means of misdirecting police. Old Nol, an Utrecht-based criminal, was told about the murder by van Zon himself, and either out of admiring Old Nol or being blackmailed by him, van Zon agreed to more murders and to share the stolen spoils with Old Nol. To prepare, van Zon modified his pipe to have a switchblade hidden inside.
On May 31, van Zon murdered shopkeeper Jan "Uncle Cupid" Donse, and on August 12, he murdered milkman Reijer de Bruijin, stealing their money and jewelry. Old Nol then ordered van Zon to murder Dora Woortmeijer, Old Nol's former paramour. Van Zon bludgeoned Woortmeijer with the pipe, but she lived and eventually identified van Zon from photographs. Van Zon was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. He married social worker Riet van der Brink in 1974, and in spite of denial from the Catholic People's Party, it's reported van Zon lived a more luxurious prison life. After van Zon's sentence was reduced to 28 1/2 years imprisonment for good behavior, he was released in 1986.
Van Zon's arrest
Van Zon was followed by the press constantly after his release. He and van der Brink divorced in 1995, and van Zon died in 1998 due to his alcoholism. His funeral was modest but with people significant to him, including van der Brink, acquaintances, his lawyer Hans Anker, and even a journalist. D66 leader Jan Terlouw and his daughter Sanne wrote a novel in 2015 titled In the House with a Serial Killer, where they described meeting van Zon while he visited a friend living with the family for rent.
Modus Operandi[]
Van Zon targeted male and female victims, for robbery when he didn't know them and for retribution for himself or Old Nol when he did. He constructed a lead pipe originally for bludgeoning, but he installed a switchblade hidden inside to use also for stabbing, while also hiding the weapon for an easy getaway. Van Zon also mutilated Coby van der Voort to misdirect police regarding the murder's motive. The last three attacks he's confirmed to have committed were under Old Nol's instructions. Van Zon stole money and jewelry from the victims, which he and Old Nol shared, except with van der Voort, whose jewelry he gave to his girlfriend Caroline Gigli.
Known Victims[]
Confirmed[]
- 1967, Utrecht, Netherlands
- April 29: Coby van der Voort, 37 (bludgeoned; mutilated postmortem and stole her jewelry)
- May 31: Jan "Uncle Cupid" Donse. 80 (stabbed and stole his money)
- August 12: Reijir de Bruijin (stabbed and stole his money)
- Dora Woortmeijer (attempted, but survived; struck once with his lead pipe; attempted to steal her jewelry)
Suspected[]
- Utrecht, Netherlands:
- 1964: Elly Segov
- 1965: Claude Berkeley
On Criminal Minds[]
While never directly mentioned or referenced in the franchise, van Zon appears to be an inspiration for the following unsubs:
- Season Nine
- Cesar Jones ("Persuasion") - Both are serial killers and hitman employed by career criminals, both had criminal records prior to their sprees, including violent and property crimes, targeted victims of both genders, killed three victims in total, assisted their employers in robberies, targeted victims who previously offended their employers, and were arrested first so their employers would be taken down.
- Season Fourteen
- Emmanuel Rask (Rule 34") - Both are narcissistic, charismatic serial killers and hitmen who disseminated obscene material before their murders, killed their romantic partners as their first murder victims, mutilated at least one of each of their victims, gifted souvenirs from their crimes to people they cared about, and were solicited by an accomplice to attempt to murder the accomplice's former romantic partner as their final victim.
On Beyond Borders[]
- Season Two
- "Obey" - While never directly mentioned or referenced in the franchise, van Zon appears to be the inspiration for the episode's unsub, Zion Andrews - Both are serial killers and hitmen who were solicited by organized crime figures they saw as surrogate fathers, targeted male and female victims, mutilated at least one of their victims, and they failed to kill their final victim, a woman.