Assize: images show how D. overpowers his ex-girlfriend

In the fragment of more than twelve minutes, you can see and hear how the accused forces his ex-girlfriend and her grandparents to sit at the table. Since the showing of the video, Alexander Dean has been sobbing incessantly.

On October 23, 2017, a 3.5-hour reconstruction of the murder of Jeroen Verstraete (39) was held in Sint-Amandsberg. The next day, Alexander Dean even showed for five hours how he had killed his ex-girlfriend Maïlys Descamps and her grandparents Gery Cappon (68) and Marie-José Vanleene (64) in Moere. “He cooperated well and described everything in great detail as it happened,” said investigating judge Vandenberghe. At the trial, however, Dean does not want to talk about the facts.

In Sint-Amandsberg, the accused hid early on 24 July on the domain around the victim’s castle. When Verstraete had left for work, D. entered the house through a window. “After that he starts to search the rooms for things that are linked to Maïlys,” said Chief Inspector Marnix Vandewalle. Dean discovered a modeling contract and also viewed the contents of several external hard drives on Verstraete’s laptop. For example, he saw a topless photo of his ex-girlfriend.

Pepper spray and a baseball bat

After returning home, the hobby photographer was overpowered in the early evening with the help of pepper spray and a baseball bat. Verstraete was obliged to undress and take a seat in the seat. According to Dean, they were still eating salmon that he had warmed up in the sofa.

At one point he is said to have asked his victim how he wanted to die. “Jeroen Verstraete proposes to cut his throat, but Dean is not sure whether his dagger is sharp enough.” The victim was allowed to smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey, after which Dean eventually stabbed him in the heart.

In the late afternoon of July 25, Dean went to the home of Maïlys and her mother in Moere. He climbed in through her bedroom window using a ladder. The accused searched her room and viewed chat conversations she had had on Messenger and on the OKCupid dating site. “It turned out that she had met someone the day before and that she was looking for a hotel with someone else to meet on July 30,” said Chief Inspector Andy Dewulf.

“There should be no dramas here”

Maïlys came home shortly after 8 p.m. and immediately realized that someone was in the house. Her grandparents were notified through her mother, who was traveling. The girl waited in the bushes, but in the meantime started filming. “Otherwise I have no proof again”, you hear her say. Finally, she went in with her grandparents. At a certain moment it could be seen how they suddenly bump into Alexander D..

After a few minutes, only the sound was recorded. It is clear that Gery Cappon will not give in to D.’s wishes. “You must leave my granddaughter alone. There must be no drama here,” it sounded.

When the accused forced them to sit at the table under threat of an air pistol, Marie-José Vanleene mainly tried to calm things down. “Gery, don’t be a hero,” she said. Maïlys’s grandmother also pointed out to Dr that he still loved his ex-girlfriend.

Alexander Dean then also told his victims about the facts on Jeroen Verstraete. “After those eight hours, we were almost friends,” he said, for example. The fragment stopped a little later, because the maximum storage capacity of Maïlys’ mobile phone had been reached. On the reconstruction, Dean explained how he showed a photo of the photographer’s lifeless body to his ex-girlfriend.

During the reconstruction, the accused refused to show on a female stand-in or on a doll how he killed Maïlys with a stab in the heart. He was willing to show it at a male stand-in or in front of an empty chair. “He did not want to kneel in front of a man, he could only do that for one person (Maïlys, ed.)”, said Chief Inspector Dewulf. D. would then have said that he loved her and that he was sorry.