# DNA databases give new lead in 2004 Heuvelmoord murder

> Police have found two possible relatives of the suspect in the Heuvelmoord case through US genealogy DNA databases, and the Public Prosecution Service wants to use the method in other unsolved serious cases.

Society · published 2026-10-29 18:29 · https://nlnow.nl/a/commercial-dna-databases-give-new-lead-in-2004-limburg-murder/

Police have compared usable DNA left at the scene of the 2004 murder of Sjef Leukel, 68, with profiles in commercial databases such as FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch. The search found two possible relatives of the suspected perpetrator in the United States.

Leukel was killed during a home robbery in Berg en Terblijt, in the case that became known as the Heuvelmoord. His wife Mia fell into a coma but recovered from her injuries. The perpetrator has never been caught.

The investigation team wants to use extensive family-tree research to establish how the two are related to the suspect. A mutual legal assistance request to the American authorities is pending. A DNA match does not mean the perpetrator has been found: the family-tree work depends on available population registers and archives.

Commercial DNA research has been used in six stalled murder cases in the past three years and produced new leads in two. A pilot by the Openbaar Ministerie, the Public Prosecution Service, the police and the Netherlands Forensic Institute began in 2023. The other lead came in a murder case in Zeeland-West-Brabant.

The prosecution service wants to use the method in serious criminal cases where other investigative options have largely been exhausted, such as murder cases and serial rapist investigations.

## Background

- **OM (Openbaar Ministerie)**: The Public Prosecution Service, which decides whether suspects are prosecuted and brings criminal cases to court.

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