Escaped prisoner to be extradited this Sunday

July 25, 2012 9:53 AM

PHILIPSBURG--Elston Fos (51), the escaped manslaughter convict who was caught and arrested on Friday, July 22, will be extradited to The Netherlands on Sunday, July 29, Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos told The Daily Herald Tuesday.

Fos was arrested in front of the police station on Friday after he was recognised by Police Inspector Bloeiman of Interpol's representation on the island. Fos has been on the run after fleeing The Netherlands while on temporary leave from prison after being convicted of a crime he committed in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on March 28, 1996.
 
Fos stabbed his daughter's aunt's boyfriend to death after confronting him for raping Fos' 13-year-old daughter. Fos was found guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was granted temporary leave on January 17, 1999, and never returned. Specific details of the reason for his being granted temporary leave are still unclear.
 
Concerning statutes of limitations, as the crime was committed 16 years ago, Mos explained that this was a matter of execution of a verdict, not a prosecution. "He was sentenced and did not return [after being granted temporary leave]," Mos explained.
 
Statutes of limitations limit the time for the prosecution of a crime to two years after the offence is committed. Fos already has been tried and convicted. In general principles of law, statutes of limitations can be argued in St. Maarten if the Justice system has been reluctant in trying to find a felon, but this is clearly not so in Fos' case, he explained.
 
How Fos managed to escape and evade capture since 1999 is also unclear. When asked, Mos said it was likely that Fos had not left The Netherlands through Schiphol Airport. In a case like this, his name would have been on a list and once he showed any form of identification, like a passport, officials would have been notified immediately and he would have been arrested at Schiphol, Mos explained. This would have been the case unless Fos left on the day he was granted temporary leave.
 
"I'm not stating facts, but this is my reconstruction," Mos told the newspaper.

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