Quadruple murder: neighborhood has not forgotten drama

He had also previously killed a photographer, Jeroen Verstraete, in Ghent. Almost five years later, the residents of the Moere district have not forgotten the horrific drama.

Nicky Doens: “That was bad. Ambulances, sirens you hear. And then look around the neighborhood. If you see a blue ribbon, it’s not good. But you don’t expect such bad things to happen here.”

Rudy Clybouw: “We just came back from the cinema. It was after midnight. All the lights were out in the area and we saw the police cars patrolling the area. At first we thought: there’s been a break-in here somewhere. And then we heard what had happened and that the perpetrator had not yet been arrested. That gave me an unsafe feeling. We knew those grandparents superficially. They were very brave, friendly people. Such terrible things! †

Mieke Houtrique: “Helicopters flew over the neighborhood all night. It was packed with press right here in our driveway. Apparently the perpetrator has also been sitting on a couch in front of the door. A neighbor boy saw the girl a few minutes before it happened.”

Nicky Doens: “That stays with him. If you go for a walk with the dog and you pass there. For a long time there was a memento where the neighbors lit candles.”

Postman Kris is also still daily reminded of the horror drama on his round. Kris Vanmassenhove: “I talked to the father in the morning. He was busy rearranging stones at his house. You can’t grasp that, things like that. Justice must be done. You don’t do things like that.”

Almost five years after the facts, the assize case starts tomorrow in Bruges.

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