Saint-Gilles-WaasIn Sint-Gillis-Waas, a reconstruction was held today of the murder of four-year-old toddler Dean Verberckmoes. The statements of suspects Dave De Kock and Romy W were tested in their apartment in Kerkstraat. It is not yet known exactly what this has resulted in, but the reconstruction of the facts took more than six hours. An overview:
Dave De Kock and Romy W. themselves remained out of the picture on Friday. The police forces had ensured that the spacious area surrounding the apartment was hermetically sealed. No effort was spared to keep snoopers away.
Part of the Pompstraat will be closed off as early as 6 a.m. This street gives access to the back of the apartment building where De Kock and his girlfriend live. There is also the garage where De Kock’s car was parked during the facts.
After the street has been closed off, the fire brigade and Civil Defense will also put sails around the apartment building. It is striking that not only the flat of Dave De Kock and Romy W. is screened off, but also the terraces of the adjacent apartments.
Suspects Dave De Kock and Romy W. are brought to the scene around 7.30 am with a convoy of combinations. De Kock’s Peugeot, with which he was going to dump Dean’s body in the Netherlands, is also being transferred for reconstruction. The lawyers of the two suspects also attend the reconstruction.
Dean’s mother is also allowed to follow the reconstruction. It does not come to a confrontation, but she follows everything from a distance on a screen. She is assisted on the spot by her lawyer Jef Vermassen.
Most of the reconstruction takes place inside the apartment on the second floor. After all, the investigators assume that Dean died here. Dave De Kock would have stated that the child had fallen down the stairs, and that he did not dare to call the emergency services because of his past.
The investigating judge and Attorney General Serge Malefason also attend the reconstruction. They are holding on to a press stop in the case for the time being.
It is not clear whether the two suspects are willing to cooperate, but it appears that the reconstruction will take many hours. Dave De Kock and Romy W. have to give their version of the facts separately. There would have been no confrontation between the two.
At around 4.30 pm, mother Elke leaves the site of the reconstruction, deeply impressed. Shortly afterwards, the lawyers also follow and the combinations drive away, who transfer the two suspects to prison again.
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