Robbery murder Oostrozebeke: who is guilty? Jury & court in deliberation

Roland Roelens (66) had his throat slit by NT (44) on October 27, 2016, but he has since died. NT himself informed the emergency services on October 28, 2016, because he had not seen his neighbor for more than a day. A little later, the police in the Midow zone found the lifeless body of Roland Roelens.

It was immediately clear that the victim had been stabbed to death in his apartment. The medical examiner determined that the throat of the man in his sixties had been slit. Due to his strange behavior, NT quickly came into the eyes of the investigators as a suspect. It turned out that Roelens allegedly made advances to his daughter MT.

NT was arrested by the investigating judge on suspicion of murder, but continued to deny any involvement. On November 2, the suspect was found dead on his bed in Bruges prison. Sudden complications from diabetes could have been the culprit.

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Research

Meanwhile, the investigation focused on NT’s family members. Their statements showed that his daughter Melissa and his then 16-year-old son A. were forced to be present at the events on the evening of October 27. A. was found guilty of robbery and murder by the special youth chamber of the Ghent Court of Appeal in 2019. As a result, he was in a closed institution until his 21st birthday.

NT’s wife remained in their apartment during the incident. That same evening, CV, A. and her husband went to a friendly couple in Egem. Shortly before the murder, T. had also contacted PBB several times by telephone. According to the family, T. had been called in to open the victim’s safe, but denies this. According to the public prosecutor’s office, at least 8,000 euros were stolen in this way.

Public prosecutor Tom Janssens himself demanded the acquittal for PB on Thursday. For MT, he leaves the decision entirely to the jury. The court psychiatrist stated that the young woman’s free will had been completely disabled, which meant that she should be acquitted on the basis of Article 71.

A conviction was only urged for CV, but the defense argued that she played absolutely no role in the robbery murder. Remarkably, the Public Prosecution Service decided not to respond to the defense’s pleas on Friday morning.

Last word

As usual, the accused were given the last word by chairman Antoon Boyen. “I am very sorry for the man Roland Roelens. I am very sorry that NT dragged my children into this. I really think it is a shame,” sobbed V. Her daughter turned to the civil party. “I feel very sorry for his daughter and for Roland.”

Finally, B. wanted to thank the court and the jury members. “Thank you especially for listening to my story. I think it’s terrible for Madam that she lost her father in such a way. I especially want to thank my lawyers who have fought for me all these years and have always remained in me to believe.”

The court and jury retired at 9:25 am to deliberate on the questions of guilt.