“He shot mom in front of my eyes”: Avelgemnaar writes off tragic domestic violence

“We came out as a family that ran perfectly,” Renzy Tielens from Avelgem begins his story. “Unfortunately, things were very different between the four walls.”

The story of Renzy Tilens reads like a true horror story. As a child, he and his sisters go through hell: their father is very violent: his sisters and mother are regularly beaten, or worse. His father became increasingly brutal. Renzy’s mother eventually met someone else and moved with her children to a better life.

“He killed mom in cold blood”

But the man finds his ex-wife and children in Wortegem-Petegem. Renzy is then ten years old. (continue reading below the photo)

“He whispered in my ear: forgive me what I’m going to do now and know that I love you,” Renzy testifies. “He turned and took the shotgun. He fired in my direction as I ran away. I sat under the table and looked up, and then he shot my mom’s friend twice, in the knee and the hip. Then he made cold blooded my mother off with a shot to the head. She fell down next to me.”

Acquittal

Renzy can go to his grandparents. At the trial the unthinkable happens: his father is acquitted. “The acquittal should never have happened. How that man managed to manipulate the jury and cover everything up. And of course: my mom could no longer speak.”

Renzy then has contact with his father, but that is not going well. Violence also seems to be the common thread in his further life, until he dies at the age of 90. A relief for Renzy, who writes off his story in the book “Son of a Murderer”. (continue reading below the photo)

“I’m not proud of my book, I’m happy with it. I’m proud of where I am now. I hope to help many people when they have read my book.”

TITEL KORT : Verslag: Jeroen Vercruysse