The Dutch Supreme Court authorised the extradition of Grenada serial killer Kathron “Kuchi” Fortune to Guadeloupe for a retrial on many deadly crimes.
Fortune, who worked in Sint Maarten, is known for his gruesome murders, including the 2006 rape and murder of Frenchwoman Angélique Chauviré. The verdict allows him to face justice in Guadeloupe, where he was convicted in absentia for Chauviré’s murder and other crimes on the French side of St. Martin.
Fortune has nearly 30 years of criminal offences. His criminal career began in 1989, when he was 22 and sentenced to three years for a violent jewellery store robbery in St. Maarten. He denied violent extortion and received an eight-year sentence in 2001.
Fortune received a 21-year term in 2007 for killing Ervin Margerita in St. Maarten in 2006. However, his legal issues continued. Fortune fled prison during a February 2016 doctor’s visit while serving his Margerita murder sentence. His capture in St. Kitts in July 2017 returned him to Pointe Blanche prison.
Fortune moved to the Netherlands and is now in maximum-security prisons after Hurricane Irma destroyed the St. Maarten jail in 2017. He’s in Sittard under strict detention.
Fortune’s violent past and dangerous temperament kept the Netherlands from extraditing him for years. The Dutch Supreme Court has approved his extradition under severe security measures to safeguard his safety.
The Basse-Terre Assize Court will retry Fortune for the 2005 and 2006 killings in Guadeloupe. His extradition concludes years of intricate legal actions across numerous nations, emphasising international crime and justice issues.
