Eggheads star to be quizzed over 12 bodies pulled from the canal

BBC quiz show star CJ de Mooi was arrested on suspicion of murder and could face extradition to The Netherlands.

The former Eggheads panelist could be extradited over allegations of murder, manslaughter and assault which date back more than 20 years. De Mooi, who appeared before Westminster Magistrates under his real name Joseph Connagh, could be quizzed in relation to 12 corpses pulled out of the canal in Amsterdam in 1988, according to the Mirror. Dutch police want to question the actor over an admission from his book that he may have killed a mugger in the city by punching him and pushing in the canal. A spokesman for the force said: “We want him to be extradited. At this moment there is no victim. "Every year we find a lot of warped corpses in the Amsterdam canals. “And in 1988 we found a lot of corpses , we found a dozen. Maybe one of these corpses we found could be his victim.” De Mooi was arrested at Heathrow airport on his return from South Africa. https://twitter.com/cjdemooi/status/777790057784762368 While Dutch authorities issued a European arrest warrant to question the star over the allegations, his defence team reportedly said in court there was a lot of missing information' from the warrant. “There doesn’t appear to be a named victim in the warrant, date of birth or even an address where this matter took place, said Chris Stevens, representing De Mooi, who added it appeared to be based on “something that might have happened” and which “could arguably be self-defence”. De Mooi told the Mirror: “It has been a very stressful and bewildering 48 hours. "As I have done from the beginning I will continue to fully cooperate with the police and their enquiries.” https://twitter.com/kirkkorner/status/778898137171816448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw De Mooi confessed that he "fully" suspected he may have murdered someone in his book CJ: My Journey from the Streets to the Screen, when he detailed an incident that allegedly took place while he was homeless in Amsterdam in 1988.

'This is the one incident of my life I do regret. I was in a phone box and this old guy, obviously a massive drug user, came up behind me with a knife in his hand. 'He told me to turn around, open my bag and give him whatever was inside. 'It was the only outburst of violence I’ve ever done. That’s one of the main reasons why I absolutely abhor all violence. 'He caught me on the wrong day and I just snapped. 'I punched him so hard in the face, knocked the knife out of his hand and threw him in the canal. I fully suspect I killed him. I've no idea what happened to him.'

Dutch police say that they were unaware of the incident until hearing about it from De Mooi and issued a European arrest warrant for the actor who had recently left Eggheads after the BBC decided not to renew his contract in the wake of sexual assault allegations.