The emergency services had been called this Christmas Sunday for an incident shortly before 5 p.m., as reported by Het Laatste Nieuws. “It turned out that it was the suspicious death of a 33-year-old man,” said Carol Vercarre of the Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office last night. “We asked the lab and a medical examiner to come to the scene.”
The medical examiner made his report on Monday. The victim died of a stab wound to the heart and lungs, indicate our Flemish colleagues.
The victim lived with his partner and her children. Two girls aged 13 and 17 and a boy aged 15 were present in the house.
According to the first elements of the investigation, there would have been an argument between the 17-year-old girl and her stepfather, during which she threatened him with a knife. The young teenager told investigators that her stepfather would have taken the knife and stabbed himself. A testimony which does not seem to correspond to the conclusions of the pathologist, according to the prosecution. The 15-year-old boy is said to have witnessed the facts, but has not yet been questioned.
The prosecution has requested that the girl be placed in a closed establishment, said spokeswoman Carol Vercarre. An investigating judge has been seized for murder and the young girl will be brought before the juvenile judge.
An autopsy will be performed on the victim’s body tomorrow.