Father of family drama in Hainaut sent farewell letter to mother-in-law and friends: “I am at my wits end” | Interior

It is terrible what happened yesterday in the Rue de Quièvremont in Vaudignies, a small village in the Walloon province of Hainaut: a man killed his ex-wife around 5 p.m. by dousing her with petrol at her home and to set on fire. A little later, his body was found along with the bodies of his two young children in a burnt-out car a little further on. Four fatalities. An entire family gone.

The father, 41-year-old David, had been separated from his ex-wife Sara for about a year and a half, according to ‘Sudinfo’. The situation was difficult, David had a hard time dealing with the divorce. But no one who could have ever imagined what happened yesterday would happen.

As usual, the father brought 9-year-old Emmy and 7-year-old Marty to their mother – the two had shared custody of the children – when the man’s fuses broke for an unknown reason. David doused his ex-wife with gasoline, set her on fire, and drove off in his car, carrying the two children. About 50 meters away, he set fire to his vehicle.

The mother was initially still alive when she was found by the emergency services, but her burns were too serious. She died on the spot not much later. All help came too late for the father and the two children. The emergency services found three charred bodies in the burnt-out wreckage. The prosecutor’s office has opened a murder investigation.

Just before the facts, the father and mother would have quarreled, French-language media wrote yesterday. It is not clear what the dispute was about.

According to the information from ‘Sudinfo’, there is now at least an element that indicates that 41-year-old David had planned his act in advance. He would have sent a farewell letter to the mother of his ex-partner. He also sent the same message to some friends. The core of the message: he was exhausted, completely exhausted.

The couple had lived in the neighboring village of Chambron-St-Vincent for years before separating. Recently, the woman lived in Vaudignies. According to “L’Avenir,” she had only lived in the house for a few weeks.

“I saw David a few days ago,” says a friend of the father in a response. “He acted normal. It’s shocking to find out now what he’s done… There were no signs at all. I’m really not good at this. It looks like something from a movie.”

Mayor Olivier Hartiel, like the rest of the village, is in shock. “This is triple murder,” he says. “There are really no words for this tragedy.” The mayor says that a white march will be organized for the victims on Sunday afternoon, January 8.

If you have questions about suicide, you can contact the suicide line via the free number 1813 or at www.zelfmoord1813.be.