A man who shot dead a married couple in their home in a long-running property dispute has told a court that police ignored his repeated complaints about damage to his property.

Richard K., 51, has admitted killing 44-year-old Ineke and her 38-year-old husband Sam last January, a year after the couple from Velsen-Zuid bought his family home.

K. and the couple became embroiled in an increasingly violent series of rows after they accused him of hiding defects in the property. The couple had demanded €100,000 in compensation to fix the house, but K. was only prepared to pay €6,000.

On January 16 K. shot Ineke in the village of Weiteveen, on the German border in Drenthe, before walking into the house and killing Sam in his bedroom. He then posted a video on Facebook admitting to the kiliing, claiming he had acted to protect his family.

Police have admitted making crucial mistakes in the months before the shooting and failing to pay heed to more than 80 complaints from villagers about stalking, threats and intimidation.

IIlegal guns

Police were also urged to check K.’s gun licence after reports of erratic behaviour. K. was authorised to use hunting rifles, but the weapons he used to kill the couple were owned illegally and kept in a separate cupboard.

K. said he had complained to police after cables leading to a barn where he kept horses were cut. He suspected the couple, but police found insufficient evidence. A meeting at Klazienaveen police station to discuss the incident was cancelled by Ineke.

The judge at the district court in Assen noted that the couple had also complained about police not following up formal complaints about K. “The complaints went straight in the bin,” she was recorded saying.

Two days before the shooting Sam headbutted K. in an incident that was filmed by parties on both sides. In footage shown to the court, Ineke shouted at K. that he was the “biggest fraudster in Weiteveen,” while K. could be seen fiddling with a revolver inside his jacket.

Diminished responsibility

Ineke’s father also contacted police to ask them to intervene in the dispute. “That man is crossing every line,” he said.

The court is also expected to hear from neurological experts about whether K.’s behaviour had been affected by a series of strokes. The 51-year-old accountant has no previous history of criminal behaviour.

He told the court the sale of the house had been an emotional wrench, but he was unable to work because of his illness. “I was born in the living room in 1983, my father died there in 1999,” he said. “But I couldn’t manage to work anymore.”

But the court also heard K. had planned the killings on the morning of January 16, arming himself before setting out and pulling the plug on two security cameras he had installed in his stall.